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I 



THE GENERAL 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICnONARY. 



A NEW EDITION. 



VOL. XXV. 



. 



printed by NieifOLti Son, and BKNTLfcv» 
lUU Lion Passages. Fleet Stn^et, LcHulum 



THE GENERAL 

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY : 

CONTAINING 

AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL ACCOUNT 

OF THB 

LIVES AND WRITINGS 

or THE 

MOST EMINENT PERSONS 

IN EVERY NATION; 

PARTICULARLY THE BRITISH AND IRISH i 

» 

FROM THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS TO THE PRESENT TIME. 



A NEW EDITION, 

REVISED AND ENLARGED BY 

ALEXANDER CHALMERS, F. S. A, 



VOL. XXV. 



LONDONt 

PRINTKD FOR J. NICHOLS AND BON { F. C. AND J. IUTIN(3TON ; T. PAYNB | 
OTRIDGB AND SON ; G. AND W. fflCOL ; G. WILKIB ; J. WALKBR ; R. LBA ; 
W. LOWNDBS; WHITE, COCHRANE, AND CO. j T. EQERTON; LACKINQTONy 
ALLEN, AND CO.; J. CARPENTER; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND 
BROWN; CADELL AND DAVIES ; CLAW; J.BOOKER; J. CUTHELL; CLARKE 
AND SONS; J. AND A. ARCH; J. HARRIS; BLACK, PARRY, AND CO. ; J. BOOTH; 
J. MAWMAN; GALE, CURTIS. AND FENNER ; R. H. ETANS j J. HATCHARD| 
J. MURRAY; BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY ; E. BENTLBY ; J. FAULDBR ;' 
OGLE AND CO. ; W. GINGER; J. DBIGHTON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE^ CONSTABLE 
AND CO. EDINBURGH I AND WILSON AND SON, YORK. 

1816. 



A NEW AND GENEBAI^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



X ITT (W^-ljam), earl of Chath^kirt, one of the ino*t 
iUustrious sutesmen wbotn this countr|y bi^s prodii^^^y w$^ 
tbie son of Robert Fitt, .esq. of Bocopnpck in Cornwall, aQ4 
grandson of Thomas Pitt^ ggivernor of Madr^i >w.bp wf^ 
purchaser of the celebrated di^tnond^ afte.r\yards called the 
Hegent. The family was origin^}^ (ofV^/set^hijet wher,e 
it bad .been iQpg and respecjO^ii^ ^^tfihlr^ed. Willi^Kia 
Pitt was bora Nov. .15, I7<>i$^'\^njl jeducikted at Pton; 
whence^ in January 1.72^6, he-iij^nt $is a/.g^ptleman-cpm- 
cDoner to Trinity- cpUege, O^fora^ Ifc.h^ been ;»8iid, th^t 
:he was not devoid of poetical taied^ of w.hicb f^ few fipe* 
cimens have been produced ; but they dp not amount to 
much, and of his Latin ver^ea on the death.pf Qeor^e th^ 
First, it is natural to suspect that the whple .iperit was .pot 
his o\yn. When be. quitted the univ^r;^ity, Pitt .was for, a 
time in the army, and served as a porneji; bpt his t{^lep|s 
leading him more decisively to another field of .fictip^, he 
quitted the life of a spldier for that of ji>t^)[<esm;»n, s^jid 
becauie a. member of parliapient for the borviii^h P^ Pld 
Saruib,;.ia FebrAj^ry ,1.73^. In thi.s sitp^tipn hi^ ahilities 
weresopn disitinguished, and he ^ppj^ie with gre.at elp^uen<;e 
against jthe J^pucuisb qopventiop 4a 1 73S. Ijt was.pn thp PC- 
casion of the bill fpr if^istrii|g se^mhcn in J7.40, .which tje 
opposed ia^^rbitcacy .and unjja^^tifi^&hle, tb^t .be is ^aid to 
have m^ade hia celehr^^d .r^ply tP Mr. .(Joratio Walpole, 
who had att^acked him on account of his ypu.th (thpu^i 
then thirty-two), adding, that the discovery of truth is 
little promoted by pompous diotipn and tbeatric>l leqiotion* 
Mr. Pitt ,retprtec|, with gre^t severity, "J w]U uot un- 
.dertake to determiae whether youth . caujuitlY jbe impptejd 
Vol. XXV. B 



2 PITT. 

to any man as a reproach ; but I w^U affirm, tha^ the 
wretch who, after having seen the consequences of repeated 
errors, continues still to blunder, and whose age has only 
added obstinacy to stupidity, is surely the object of 
either abhorrence or contempt, and deserves not that bis 
grey head should secure him from insults. Much more ia 
he to be abhorred, who, as he has advanced in age, has 
receded from virtue, and becomes more wicked with less 
temptation; who prostitutes himself for money which he 
cannot enjoy ; and spends the remains of his life, in the 
ruin of his country." Something like this Mr. Pitt might 
have said, but the language is that of Dr. Johnson, who 
then reported the debates for the Gentleman's Magazine. 

Though he held no place immediately from the crown, 
Mr. Pitt had for some time enjoyed that of groom of the 
befddbamber to Frederick prince of Wales, but resigned it 
in 1745; and continuing steady in his opposition to the 
measures of the ministry, experienced about the same time 
that fortune, which more than once attended him, of ha- 
ving his public services repaid by private zeal. The dow- 
ager duchess of Marlborough left him by will 10,000/. ex- 
pressly for defending the laws of his country, and, en- 
deavouring to prevent its ruin. It was thought soon after 
an object of importance to obtain his co-operation with 
|;overnment, and in 1746 he was made joint vice-treasurer 
of Ireland ; and in the same year treasurer, and pay -mas- 
ter-general of the army, and a privy -counsellor. h\ 1755, 
thinking it necessary to make a strong opposition to the 
continental connections then formed by the ministry, be 
resigned his places, and remained for some time out of 
office. But in December 1756, he was called to a higher 
situation, being appointed secretary of state for the south- 
ern department. In this high office he was more success- 
ful in obtaining the confidence of the public, than that of 
the king, some of whose wishes h« thought himself bound 
to oppose. In consequence of this he was soen, removed, 
with Mr. Legge, and some others of his friends. The na- 
tion, however, was not disposed to be deprived of the ser- 
vices of Mr. Pitt. The most exalted idea of hini bad been 
taken up throughout the kingdom : not only of his abilities, 
which were evinced by his consummate eloquence, but of 
his exalted, judicious, and disinterested patriotism. This 
general opinion of him, and in some degree of his col- 
leagues, was so strongly expressed, not merely by per- 



PITT. 8 

so'nal bonc^rs conferred on tbem^ but by addresses to'th^ 
throne in their favoar, that the king thought it prudent to 
restore them to their employments. On June 29, 1757, 
Mr. Pitt was again made secretary qf state, and $ir. Legge 
chancellor of the exchequer, with other arrangements ac- 
eording to their wishes. Mr. Pitt was now considered as 
prime minister, and to the extraordinary ability of his 
-measures, and the vigour of his whole administration, is 
attributed the great change which qufckly appeared in the 
state of public affairs. It was completely shewn how much 
the spirit of one man may animate a whole nation. The ac- 
tivity of the minister pervaded every department His plans> 
which were ably conceived, were executed with the utmost 
promptitude ; and the depression which had arisen from 
torpor and ill success, was followed by exertion, triumph, 
and confidence. The whole fortune of the war was changed ; 
in every quarter of the world we were triumphant ; the 
boldest attempts were made by sea and land, and almost 
every attempt was fortunate. In America the French lost 
^lefoec; in Africa their principal settlements fell; in the 
E»it-Indies their power was abridged, and in Europe their 
armies defeated ; while their navy, their commerce, and 
their finances, were little less than ruined. Amidst this 
career of success king George the Second died, Oct. 25, 
1760. His present majesty ascended the throne at a time 
when ifae policy of the French court had just succeeded in 
obtaining the co-operation of Spain. The family cpmpact 
had been secretly concluded ; and the English minister, 
indubitably informed of the hostile intentions of. Spain, 
with his usual vigour of mind, had determined on striking 
the first blow, before the intended enemy should be fully 
prepared for action. He proposed in the privy council an 
immediate declaration of war against Spain, urgitig, with 
l^eat energy, that this was the favourable moment, per* 
baps never to be regained, for humbling the whole iiouse 
of Bourbon. In this measure he was not supported, and 
the nation attributed the opposition he encountered to the 
growing influence of the earl of Bute. Mr. Pitt, of much 
too high a spirit to remain as the nojCninal head of a cabi- 
net which he was no longer able to direct, resigned his 
places on, the 5th of October, 1761 ; when, as some re- 
ward for his eminent services, his wife was created baro« 
Dess of Chatham in her own right, and a pension Of thref 

B 2 . 



% ^ 1 t T- 

thoiisatSa pounds wtLs s^ttl^d oh the lives of biimeif) his h^ 
Wnd his eldest ^on. 

No falleti iiltirti^ter ev6t carried tvith him more com*- 
pletely tfi'e confidence And regrA of the natkm^ over ^bose 
councils be had pi'esided : but the king was also popular, 
at this time, and th'6 War being eodttnired by his new 
ininiiftei^ With vigour and siSccesS, iio discontent appeared 
till Sifter the conclusion 6f peac^. Our trivmpbs in the 
West Iirdies oVer b6th Fwtivee imd Spain, had particulariy 
eliilted'thb ^irits 6T'the pMpte, and it was tconceived that 
W6 ou&ht eithclr to cftctate a peacfe as conquerors, or cwlk- 
tinue the war till our adver^ies shoaM be more ^fFectir- 
liltytiubi^Ved. With these ideas, when the preliminaries 
for pekc'e ftreVe di sensed in pdrtiament, Mr. Pitc^ though 
'he bkA been for somi time confipnfed by a severe fit of th^ 
^b'ut, Wfent ^doWii t6 %he -House of Commons, a^d spoke 
foV nearly thireb hburs in \he debate. He gave his opinioQ 
'distinfctTy upoh almost e'vfei^ article in the treaty, and, 
tipon the Wncyle, maintained that it was inadequate to the 
conquests, knd just e^pectiitions of the kingdom. Peace 
Wa^ however cdtiduded an tb^ lOth of. February, 1763^ 
and ^M'r Pitt cbfftinued tiri^mpioyed. He had the magna- 
uibiity tiot to enter ihtotbat petulant and undiscriminatihg 
jptan '6f oppositioti, which has ^o'fiequentiy disgraced the 
ill-judging candidates for power; but maintained bis popii- 
larity in dignified retirement, itnd came forward only when 
great 6ccaSioni$ appeared to demand his interference. 'One 
of tbefse was the important question of general warrants in 
1764; theMllegality of which he maintained with all the 
energy 6f ^bis genius and eloquence. A search 'or seizure 
of papers, without a specific charge alledged, would be, 
as he justly contended, reptignant to «v^ry prin<!fiple ^ 
liberty. The moist innocent man could not be secure. 
" But by the British conStitiition," hfe continued, " every 
man's house is his castle. Not that it is surrounded with 
Walk and battlehients. It may be a 'straw- built shed. 
Evi^ry wind of heaven may Whtstlerbund it. Ail the ele- 
ments of nature may eilter it. But the king cannot; the 
king dare not" 

When the discontents in' A inetica began to tippear, d» 
the occasion of the stanfpistct, Mr. PHt again 'found a sub- 
ject for his (exertions. The r^pleal iof that act' being pro- 
posed in March 1766, by tbb tiew ministry of ^e finking- 
ham-party, Mr. Pitt, though not Qonnected with them. 



JP I T f . J 

very r<i]«U)ly'sup[pai^leii iht V0fi^»r^ whipk wi^ 9am^.; 

wbetber. wisely or foriupfite)y» \tk ^tUI f^ m^t^ pf disgfiutes. 

ibeat this time <lie«l sir Wini^m Pypsent, of ]6ttr(9P 

Pyriisenviii Soan^rsetsbirey ain^n qf ^Qn«id^ipable proppfty;, 

who, ihroagh toeve adu^iratipa of Mf. I^^t( irj hU p^^Up 

character, disinhemed bis ova r^btionsi W^ M'^^ \iW 

heir 10 the bulk of his esiMe. It w»s P«r(iliuly a reqnfir^r 

able proof of the very uiicQmn^n <|«tim?lMpn in wbicli |{iiji 

statesmati vras held, thai a (^ircm«i9lia$:e pf t,hui niftfir^ 

•haufd have happened to him at twf)i di#i^r$iqt p^riq^i plT 

his life.. 

7be Roekjnghaoi feinistry prpripg uni^b» tp fo^ifitAin i^9 
froarid, a nemr adfninisiration m9A fnmieid, wd H^ VWh IP 
1766, was niada lord privy seal. At the f4n)0 Um^ h^ Wl^ 
created a peer, by the titles of Yisopunt Pitt, pf Bv)rtQP 
Pynsent, in the county of Samcr^fj ^d.e»rl of CJiathaiii^ 
in the county of Kent. Whatever might biS hi^ Kiptjy.^^ fpr 
dcceptrng this eleration, be Mr^nly 9Qoi^ by it In pppu- 
larity, at least as much as be vf^e in opmin^l dig^i^y*. Tb^ 
great co^amonef, as btf was someliines stylpd, b%d forip^d 
ar^nkto himself, on the sole ba^i^ pf bia t^le^^s ai)jd ft^- 
eruonft, Gdrwfaioh the titulai; hpiioursi which h^ ?V^i^ m^w 
to partieipate with many ot^iers, pould nut iR tbe publip 
ppiaiou compensate.' Still it niuat b^ .<>w4^d ^.^^ ^b^ higb 
and hereditary distinction of tb(s peer^g^ isi 9 j))stiiDd.b^ 
nourableiebject of aii^bition 1^ uPriiisb pidtm^ffU^fi vvbicbr 
if he attains it, as Mr. Pitt f^ppe^^ra t/» bi^vis 4<^i9^ Wii^bppt 
aay improper concession or sjtipulatipiiy a^f^y he p09$ic)^rpd 
as the fair reward of past ser^ipes, 4l9d $bp 0IQ3t pi^qoj^ 
tmtit mooiuneiit of public gratiti^. Lpr4 Ckf^thw^f vyb^' 
ever might be theeause, did not lopg Q9npi(\np in p^c^; 
fae resigiied die place of lord privy fte^l pn tbe pdpf t^o- 
veratKer, I7£t, arid k was tbe laat pid^ii;c empfqyiBenjt which 
he ever accepted. He does not indeed appis^ jto b4V.a 
been desirous of returning to^ofiSce* He/w99 ^Q^^i^ty ; 
and the goHi,. by winch be bad hi^mi long ^Aict^d^ b^d 
become too frequent and violent in its attacks, to siif^^ of 
close ior r^uiar appiicaj^ion ia jbusinesi. fp tbp p^rvals 
of bis disorder he comipued oiscaj^ionaUy to eKC^t bi^9<&lf» 
on qpeations gH great msgnicfide, and w^ par|j(Ci;lar)^ 
streno^Npa ia 1775, aiid the etoanii^g yi&ars, ag^/^t tb0 
loaeasares pursued by the nuni^^jters in U2»3 cpn/t^^ yvitji 
Ameii^. ' Nevertheless^ in all tbJAgs kii m^^^Hl^d bis 
native apirit. When FraAce began tp ipA^fof^ ip Ib^ 



« PITT. 

contesty be fired with indignation at the insult ; and wheA^ 
in 1778;, it was thdught necessary, after the repeated mis- 
fortunes of the war, to acknowledge the incjependence of 
America, he summoned up all the strength that remained 
within hini, to pour out his disapprobation of a measure so 
inglorious. He did so in a speech of considerable energy^ 
and being answered in the course of the debate by the 
duke of Richmond, seemed agitated with a desire to re- 
ply : but when he attempted to rise, the effort proved too 
violent for his debilitated constitution, and he sunk, in ^ 
kind of fit, into the arms of those who were near him. This 
extraordinary scene of a great statesman, almost dying in 
the last exertion of his talents, has been perpetuated by tbie 
pencil^ and will live for ever in the memory of his country- 
men. He did not long survive this effort. This debate hap- 
pened on the Sth of April, 1778, and he died on the 11th 
oiF May ensuing. 

All parties appeared now to contend to do honour to his 
memory : a public funeral and a monument in Westminster 
abbey, at the national expence, were immediately voted by 
parliament, and his majesty was addressed to settle upon 
bis family ^* such a lasting provision as he in his wisdom 
and liberality should think fit, as a mark of the sense the 
nation entertains of the services done to this kingdom by 
that able Statesman.'' A pension of 4,000/. a-year was ac^- 
cordingly appointed by his majesty, out of the civil list 
revenue, and confirmed in per[^tuity by parliament, to the 
heirs of the earl of Chatham, to whom the title should de- 
scend. The monument raised to his memory is highly 
worthy of the occasion, being perhaps the noblest effort of 
British sculpture. His figure appears upon it, - at full 
length, in his parliamentary robes, and in the attitude of 
speaking ; the accompaniments are grand and appropriate, 
and the inscription has a simple dignity, much more im- 
pressive than any pomp of words, announcing merely, 
that the king and parliament have paid this tribute to hisf 
merits. 

The principal outlines of lord Chatham's character, sa- 
gacity, promptitude, and energy, will be perceive^d iu the 
foregoing narrative. The peculiar powers of his eloquence 
have been characterized since his death in language which 
will convey a forcible idea of it to every reader. " They 
who have been witnesses to the wonders of his eloquence, 
who have listened to the music of his voice^ or trembled 



PITT. 7 

tt itft majesty; who have seen the persuasive gracefulness 
of bis action, or have felt its fqrce ; they who have caught 
the flame of eloquence from his eye, who have rejoiced in. 
the glories of his countenance, or shrunk from his frown^, 
will jremember the resiistless power with which he ioir 

Eressed conviction. But to those who have never seen or 
eard this accomplished orator, the utmost effort of imagi- 
nation will be necessary, to form a just idea of that com- 
bination of exceiltfnce, which gave perfection to bis elo* 
quence. His elevated aspect, commanding the awe and 
mute attention of all who beheld him, while a certain grace 
in bis manner, arising from a consciousness of the dignity 
of bis situation, of the solemn scene in which he acted, as 
well as of his own exalted character, seemed to ^cjsnow- 
ledge and repay the respect which he received. — ^This ex- 
traordinary personal dignity, supported on the basis of his 
well-earned fame, a^t oqce acquired to his opinions an 
assent, which is slowly given to the arguments of oth^r 
men. His assertions rose into proof, his foresight became 
prophecy.^— No clue was necessary to the labyrinth illumi- 
nated by bis geuius. Truth came forth at bis bidding, 
and realised the wish of the philosopher ; she was seen,. and 
beloved.^' — We have omitted some parts of this spirited 
character because not written with equal judgment : but 
the result pf the whole is, that while he sought, with inde- 
fatigable diligence, the best and purest sources of politi- 
cal information, be had a mind which threw new lights upon 
every topic, and directed him with more certainty than any 
adventitious aid. Another account of bis extraordinary 
powers, more concise, but drawn with wonderful spira, is 
attributed to the pen of Mr. Wilkes. '^ He was born an 
orator, and from nature possessed every outward requisite 
to bespeak respect, and even awe. A manly figure, with 
the e^gje eye of the famous Cond6, fixed your attention, 
and abnost coipmanded reverence the moment he appeared ; 
and the keen lightnings of his eye spoke the high spirit 
of his soul, before his lips had prpnounced a syllable. 
There was a kind of fascination in his look when he eyed 
any one askance. Nothing could withstand the force of 
that contagion. The fluent Murray has faultered, and even 
Fox (afterwards lord Holland) shrunk back appalled, 
from an adversary, ^ fraught with fire unquenchable,' if I 
may borrow the expression of our great Milton. He had 
Dot tbe correctness pf language so striking in the great 



g PITT. 

ftditt^il oMi^r (#6 fUajr sidd, and in his soti), but be hacl 
the verba ardenHa^ the b(rid gtoivlng W6rds.**--»L<Mrd Cbei* 
iferfi^ld hd» givM a indre gendrAl ptetnre ^ hb ehaii^ter,- 
16 th6 following W6rds : '* Mr. Pift im^ his riie to the" 
jit(Mt ccta^ideHtbiC! post iifid power ift thk kingdom, »ingif 
tb his ovrii dhilities. In him thej ftupplied the w«nt of 
birth ftiid fdttDne, whieh latter, in others too often ^opply- 
tibo vratlt o^ the Fortfier. He was k younger brother^ of a 
v^f^ new hthWfy and bis fortone was only an annoity of 
6t\6 biiildred pounds a-ye^r. Xhe artny wai his original 
destiriation, aOd a cometcy of horse hi^ first and only 
coMmissiotl iO it Thoft Onatelsted by favour or fOrtnne, 
be bad no f^owl!fftil protector to introdne^ bim into bnsl« 
D^ss, ^tid (if 1 tnsiy Use that eicpre^^ion) to do the bo*- 
nOUrft of bis pktis ; bnt tbeif oWn strength was fully suft* 
di^ni. tli^ constiitktion reftfsed bim the nsn^l pleasnres, 
and bis gtoi.ud ferbtd bidi tbe idle dissipations Of yontb ; 

tot 80 darly ds ^t the ap of riiteen he was tbe martyr of 
ab hereditary gout. He thei'efore employed tbe leisure 
which that tedious and painful distemper either proeured 
or allowed bim, in Sicquiring k great fiind of pngmatnre 
ahd Useful knowledge. Thub by tbe unaeeountable rek«- 
tioo of causes kiid effects, wbitt seented th^ greatest mts^ 
fbrtuoe of his life, was perhaps tbe prinoipal cause of its 

splebdOf. His private life Was stained by no rice, nor 
silllied by any meanness. All bis sentiments were liberal 
ahd elevated. His ruling passion was an unbounded ambi» 
tioO, which, when supported by gteat abilities, and crowned 
With great success, makes what tbe world calls a great man. 
He \^a8 haughty, imperious, impatient of contradiction, 
and Overbearing; qualities which toO often accompany, 
but always Clog great ones. He had manners and address/ 
but one might discover tfavough them too great a conscious- 
ness of his Own superior talents. He was a most agreeable 
and lively cbm^ianiou in social life, and bad such a tersa^ 
tility of wit, that he Would adapt itto all sorts of eonver^ 
satiob. He had also a most happy turn to poetry, but be 
seldom indulged, ahd seldom avowed it. He came young 
into parliament, and upon that tbeatie be soon equalled 
the oldest aiid the ablest actors. His efoquence was of every 
kind, and he excelled ita the argumentative, as well as in 
the declamatory way. But bis invectives were terrible, 
and uttered with such energy of diction, and sutch dignity 

of action and countenance, that he intimMated those wfac^ 



p I T t: 

werd the mosl willing and best able to ehcofanter 
Their arms fell OQt of tbeir bands, and tbey shrunk under 
the ascendant vrbich his genius gained over theirs.*' As a 
proof of this wonderful power, it is related that sir Robert 
Walpc^e scarcely heard the aoond of his voice in the House 
of Commons, when he was alarmed and thunder-struck. He 
told his fnends, that be would be glad at any rate, '^ to 
muzzle that terrible cornet of horse/' That minister would, 
have promoted his rise in the army, if be would have 
given up his seat in the house. 

A small volume has recently been published by lord 
Grenville, containing letters from lord Chatham to his 
nepbew, the late Thomas Pitt, lord Camelford, replete with 
excellent advice, in an easy, affectionate, and not inele^ 
gant style. In early life it has been noticed that be had a 
turn for poetry, which occupations of greater moment in* 
terrupted. Lord Orford, and his able continuator Mr. Parky 
have mentioned a few of his verses. ' 

PITT (William), second son of the preceding, and his' 
legitimate successor in political talents and celebrity, waa 
born May 28, 1759. He was educated at home under the 
immediate eye of his father, who, as he found him very 
early capable of receiving, imparted to him many of the 
principles which had guided his own political conduct, and 
in other respects paid so much attention to his education 
that at the age of fourteen, he was found fully qiiahfied for 
the university ; and accordingly, was then entered of Pem<- 
broke-hall, Cambridge, where he was distinguished alike 
for the closeness of his application, and for the success o€ 
his efforts, in attaining those branches of knowledge to 
which Jiis studies were particularly directed ; nor have 
many young men of rank passed through the probation of 
an university with a higher character for morals, abilities, 
industry, and regularity. He was intended by his father 
for the bar and the senate, and his education was regulated 
so as to embrace both these objects. Soon after he quitted 
the university, he went to the continent, and passed a 
abort time at Rbeims, the capital of Champagne. The 
death of his ittustrious father, while he was in his I9tfa 
year, eould not fail to cast a cloud over the prospects of a 

^ P w o tjl i ag edilioii of thic' Dictiwiary, from ▼wriout tour^^et.— Collias*« 
Peerage, by sir £. Brydges. — AsDual Register, passim. — A life of lord Chathant 
VM ]NibfaBbed m three Tolumes, octa:To, by Atimm the beolnetler j but is a 
FmS^Md .aMSgo of party aboK, deststiHe af tauy aoitbsBtioity* 



^"il 



>■ ' 



lO PITT. 

younger son, but the foundation was laid of those quali* 
ties which would enable him to clear the path tO: eminence- 
by his own exertions. He had already entered himself a 
student of Lincoln^s Inn, and as soon as he was of age, in 
1780y he was called to the bar, went the western circuit 
once, and appeared in a few causes as a junior counsel*. 
His success during this short experiment was thought to be 
such as was amply sufficient to encourage him to pursue 
his legal career, and to render him almost certain of.ob- 
taining a high rank in his profession, A seat in parlia-r 
ment, however, seems to have given his ambition its. pro- 
per direction, and at once placed him where he. was best 
qualified to shine and to excel. At the general election iu 
1780, he had been persuaded to offer himself as a candi* 
date to represent the university of Cambridge, but finding 
that his interest would not be equal to carry the election^ 
be declined the contest, and in the following year was, 
through the influence of sir James Luwtber, returned for 
the borough of Appleby. This was during the most violent 
period of political opposition to the American . war, to 
which Mr. Pitt, it may be supposed, had an hereditary 
aversion* He was also, as most young men are, captivated 
by certain theories on the subject of political reform, which 
were to operate as a remedy for all national disasters. 
Among others of the more practical kind, Mr. Burke iiad, 
at the commencement of the session, brought forward hi^ 
bill for making great retrenchments in the civil list. On 
this occasion Mr. Pitt, on the 26th of February, 1781, 
made his first speech in the British senate. The attention 
of the buuse was naturally fixed on the son of the illustrious 
Chatham, but in a few moments the regi^rds of the whole, 
audience were directed to the youthful orator on his own 
account. Unembarrassed by the novelty of the situation 
in which he had been so lately placed, he delivered him- 
self with an ease, a grace, a richness of expression, a 
soundness of judgment, a closeness of argument, and ^ 
classical accuracy of language, which not only answered, 
but exceeded, all the expectations which had been formed 
of him, and drew the applauses of both parties. During 
the same and the subsequent session^ be occasionally rose 
to give his sentiments on public afiairs,' and particularly on 
parliamentary reform. This he urged with an enthusiastn 
which he had afterwards occasion to repent; for when more 
mature Consideration of the subject, had convinced him 






4 
1 



■'.■^ 






PITT. 11 



ib9t the expedient was neither safe nor useful, be was con-* 
sidered as an apostate from bis early professions. As a 
public speaker, however, it was soon evident that be was 
destined to act a high ptirt on the political stage; yet, 
although be seemed to go along generally with the party, 
in opposition to lord North, he had not otherwise much 
associated with them, and therefore when, on the dissolu- 
tion of lord North*s, a new one was formed, at the head of 
which was the marquis of Rockingham, Mr. Pittas name 
did not appear on the list. Some say he was not invited 
to take a share ; others, that be was offered the place of a 
lord of the treasury, which he declined, either from a con- 
sciousness that he was destined for a higher station, or that 
he discerned the insecurity of the new ministers. Their 
first misfortune was the death of the marquis of Rocking- 
ham, which occasioned a fatal breach of union between 
them, respecting the choice of a new head. Of this the 
earl of Shelburne availed himself, and in July 1782, having, 
with a part of the former members, been appointed first 
lord of the treasury, associated Mr. Pitt, who had just 
completed his 2Sd year, as chancellor of the exchequer. 
A general peace with America, France, Spain, &c. sooti 
followed, which was made a ground Of censure by a very 
powerful opposition ; and ia April 1783, the famous coali- 
tion ministry took the places of those whom they had ex*- 
pelled. Mr. Pitt, during his continuance in office, had 
found little opportunity to distinguish himself, otherwise 
than as an able defender of the measures of administration, 
and a keen animadverter upon the principles and , conduct 
of his antagonists ; but a circumstance occurred which con- 
stitutes the first great sera in his life. Thiii, indeed, was 
the eventual cause not only of his return to office, but of 
bis possession of a degree of authority with the king,' and 
of popularity with the nation, which has rarely been the 
4ot of any minister, and which he preserved, without in- 
terruption, to the end of his life, although his character 
^s supposed to vary in many respects from the opinion 
th^t had been formed of it, and although he was never 
known to stoop to the common tricks of popularity. The 
coalition adininistration, of which some notice has been 
taken in our accounts of Mr. Burke and Mr. Fox, was, in 
its formation, most revolting to the opinions of the people. 
Its compositioii was such as to afford no hopes of future 
)»enefit to the nation, and it was therefore narrowly 



It p It t. 

watched as a. combination for self-interest. While tht 
public was indulging such suspicions, Mr^ Fox introduced 
his famous bill for the regulation of the affairs of Ipdla^ tb^ 
leading provision of which was \o v^st the whole manage^ 
ment of the ailairs of the East India company, iu seven 
eommissioners named in the act, and to be appointed by 
the ministry. It was in vain thai, thlswaa represented as a 
measure ahke beneficial to the company and to the nation ; 
the public considered it as trenching too mueb On the pre- 
fogative^ as creating a mass of ministerial influence whiek 
would be irresistible, and as rendering the ministry toe 
strong for . the crown. Mr. Pitt, who, In this instance, 
had rather to follow than to guide the [Hiblie opinion^ 
unfolded the hidden mystery of the vast iaiass of pa* 
tronage which this bill would give, painted in the most 
glowing colours its danger to the crown and people on one 
nand, and to the company on the other, whosel* chartered 
rights were thus forcibly violated. The alarm thus be- 
coaling general, although the bill passed Che House of 
Commons by the influence which tim ministers still po3«- 
sessed in that ^ssembly^ it was rejected in the House of 
Lords. 

To reconcile themselves to this disappointment, and 
perhaps to regajn ground .with the j)ublic, the ministers 
lodustriQusiy circulated the report that the bill owed its re- 
jection to secret intrigue atid undue influence. It was said 
t^at lord^ Temple, afterwards the marquis ,of Buckinghatm, 
dad demanded a private audience of his majesty, and re- 
presented the danger iti such alight, that direciiofis were 
sent to ail (he noblemen connected with the court to vote 
against it. This, hxiwever, had it been true iii it» full ex- 
tent, made no difference in the public opinion^ In a case 
of such danger, a departure from the ordiirary forms was 
not thought to bear any unfriendly aspect to the welfare 
of the state; and some were of opinion that all which lord 
Temple was supposed to communicate, must have already 
occurred to his majesty^s reflection. The consequence, 
however, was, that tfa^ ministry resigned their places, aud 
in the new arrangement, Mr. Pitt, whosfe fitness for office 
was no longer a doubt, was made first lord of the treasury, 
and chancellor of the exchequer. 

His appearance, at the early age of twenty-four in this 
Ingfa character, was as mucb applauded on the part Of the 
nation at large, as it was ridiculed and. despised hy bis 



PITT. IS 

epponleats, as the Wrbgafit «stumption of a i^ipltfig mfibo > 
o^d to JEKCcident of intrigue, what a few iveeks or morrtbt 
mkitt berDaraly deprivte l^itn of. For fiome time, iodeed^ all 
\lm aetoted nofc very iriaprobabl^. T4m adJMrents of the 
€oalttloii*Diiiit8tryy in tbe House of Comaions, had taffered 
no igf&x dkniiiikion, and foraied' yet ao considerable a 
najority, that when Mr. Pitll; ivtrodDced his own biU into 
the House for die reflation of IwlAk affam, it was re«- 
' ^ted by 22dfc against 1214. In tins stale matteifs vemaiiMd 
^ some itBOiithsy ^daring wbioh m^etrnngs nvene held- of the 
ieading men off both psrrtiiesi, *with a vrew to a general ai> 
comiDodatiot) ; bot as Mr. Pittas previotts i^esignativii *waa 
ddoaanded as a sine qua non, be detsemtned to acHieve ia 
tbe utmost e^remity to the sovereign by whom he had 
•been 'called into office, and the peop^ by whom hie' found 
Irirtiself sapported. After mafny onavaihng efforts^ tfaene>- 
fore, he 'determined on a dteip wsbieh^ had his oaase been 
hss popcAstj mght h^ve been fetal to his tfo?ereign as well 
m to himself. , This was a dissolution of psrliaaient, wfaiok 
took >pl ace in the month ^f March 1784; aAd althougk 
during* fbe ^gen^ral ^election the ooonnry was ihrown, by 
the struggles df ^tbe tparttes, into a greatser degree of poliu 
tical beat and iprttation than ever was known, and although 
•some of his hig^her opponents greatly embarrassed their 
estates and families l^y the md^t wasteful escpendttare, in 
order to, secure the return of their friends, above thirty of 
this latter, all'oien of consideration, werethrow^n out, and %be 
minister was enabled to meet the new ^parliament wkh a 
decided majority, including atmoat the wliole of that clasB 
Hiat had tbe credit of patriotism and independence, but 
certainly exoludirng a mass of ^talent such as few ministers 
have had to 'encounter. 

The 'first important measure introduced linto this parlia- 
ment was the India Bill rejected by the last, which was.p;itoed; 
and, with some few alterations, eonstitutes the system by' 
Which the afiairs of the EiKst India company have ever ^sinee 
been Aianaged. Another important plan, executed >by Mr. 
Pitt, was that for the prevention df> smuggling. This, 'in 
•Ul branches df the revenue, occupied ibis iatiention fbr 
sdme years afterwicrds, but his present ol^je^twasubeifrauds 
-an the revenue in the article of tea, which he' obviated by 
what was called fbe 'Commutation A«t, which took off the 
pcinoipdl duties from tea, and supplied the deficiency by^a 
kiye ^tdditioo to ttie window^'taJt. This, if we remember 



14 P I T i*. 

right, was the first circumstance which oeeasioned sdme 
murmuring) and it was the first instance in which' Kfr; 
Pitt showed that he was not to be diverted from what h^' 
conceived would be generally a benefit, by any dread' of 
the loss of popularity. If at this time he seems ambitious 
of any distinctive ministerial character, it was that of an 
able and successful minister of finance ; and there caiinot 
be a more decided proof of bis having attained that honour, 
than that his plans are still operating, and have enabled 
the country to sustain for upwards of twenty years a war 
of unexampled expence, and at the same time to supiport 
feebler nations in recovering their independence from a 
tyranny to which they were thought, to be irreversibly 
doomed. 

In 1786, when few could have foreseen its future im- 
portance, he introduced a bill for setting apart a mitKon 
annually for the purchase of stock, which sum was to be 
augmented by the interest of the stock so purchased. Per- 
severance in this plan, with occasional improvements, has 
already, amidst all the pressure of public burdens, extin-* 
guished between two and three hundred millions of debt, 
and produced a very considerable revenue to be applied to 
the same purpose. These efiects his enemies are ready to 
acknowledge, but with a view to detract from his merit, 
they tell us that this was the least efficient of three plans 
given fo him by Dr: Richard Price, and that* for such an 
obligation h^ did not think it worth his while to make the 
smallest public acknowledgement. Whatever may be in 
this, the general system of finance now established was 
soon powerfully aided by various alterations in the mode 
of collecting taxes, and by a commercial treaty with France, 
concluded in 1787, so much in favour of our merchants, 
as to occasion considerable dissatisfaction among those of 
France. 

Among the subsequent measures, in which Mr. Pitt was 
personally concerned, we may notice his acceding to the 
impeachment of Mr. Hastings ; and his joining in the sup- 
port of the established church by opposing the repeal of 
the Test and Corporation Acts, in both which he agreed 
with the majority, although in the latter he disappointed 
the hopes of the various sects of dissenters. His inter- 
ference also to preserve the power of the Stadtholder in 
Holland, was a popular measure. But he was less suc- 
.cessful in two other instances of interference in continental 



PITT. 1^ 

politic^, the one to check the aggrandizement of Russia 
under the empress Catherine, which the parliament forced 
him to abandon ; and the other a dispute- with Spain re^- 
tpecting the fur-trade at Nootka Sound, which was equally 
uopopular, and a( length was adjusted by a convention. 

The second great «ra of Mr. PitOs public life was now 
approaching, in which his power and popularity arose to 
the greatest height in the very moment when in all human 
.probability he was ahout to be deprived of both. In the 
autumn of 1788, the country was thrown into a state of 
alarm by a calamity which rendered his majesty incapabfe 
( of exercising the royal functions. Parliament having been 
prorogued to Nov. 20, it became necessary it should meet 
. that day, as the sovereign, by whom only it could be fur* 
ther prorogued, was not in a situation to assert his prero- 
gative. In the mean time, the leaders of the different 
parties who were interested in the event, assembled in 
the. capital; and an express was dispatched to Mr« Fox^ 
jthen absent on the continent, to accelerate his return. 
•This occurrence gave occasion to a display of the firmness 
. and decision of Mr. Pitt's character. In this article we 
cannot enter into many particulars ; but we may observe, 
that the 6r3t material question brought up by this event 
was, in whom the office of regent was vested ? The prince 
of Wales being then connected with the party in opposi- 
tion, Mr. Foxx6ntended that the regency devolved upon 
him as a matter of course ; while, on the other hand, Mr. 
Pitt supported the doctrine,, that it lay in the two remain-' 
iug branches of the legislature to fill up the office, as they 
should j.udge proper; admitting, at the same time, that no 
other person than the prince could be thought of for the 
office. By adopting this principle, he carried with him 
the concurrence as well of. those who were attached to the 
popular part of the constitution, as of the king's friends^ 
whose great object was to secure his return to power, on 
the cessation of his malady ; and he was enabled to pass a 
bill, greatly restricting the power of the regent, which his 
majef^ty's timely recovery in the beginning of 1789 ren- 
dered unnecessary ; but such was the general conviction of 
. its propriety, that on a subsequent more melancholy occa* 
sLon, the minister of the day, Mr. Perceval, found no great 
difficulty in reviving it, and it became the rule of the pre- 
. sent, regency. Mr. Pitt was npw left to pursue his plans 
of internal economy, without those iuterruptions to which 






16 PIT T* 

bt famd kteijr i>een snii^ted. He hwi veoeived, daring 
the discuwions on tb« regeney, very decisive tokens of 
^esteem from fnany of the gveat public bodies in tbe kmg^ 
domi; »i^d he iiad the souidactioii of kooiwuig, that tbe 
firm End steady condxct vvinch he obs^ved, on a question 
pecniiarly caicnUrted ^ try the imneMy steadiness, and 
voonsisteficy of a public obaracter, had lObtauied for bim, in 
a irery marberi manner, tbe 'confidence of tbeir majesties, 
and greatly increased bis popularity tbrotugfhout tbe nation. 
Tbe third ^reat asra in Mr. PktVlife, and which, ibe-^ 
yimd M preceding parts of hk condoct, will determine bis 
d»r3Cler vAth pofiteiuty, was tbe French oerolutioo, «n 
event the most momenitons in its oonseqaences that nao- 
dern histi»ry pecends. Hie influence of tbis 'vast conTul- 
sixni cotfki naiot iye viewed, by the politiotan and tbe minis* 
txfc 'df a 'great empite, but in a double lig^ht, as exerted 
»pon (France itoeif, and 4jpon the neighbouring stakes. I|i 
boA) cases, Mr. Pvtt took up the opinion tbat it afford^ 
just «ause for jealousy, and he was the more st«!engthened 
in ifbis 0pinton ftom observing the effects which ^ con- 
iduct of <he French bad already 'psoduced in tbisoountry. 
'It fis dllow>ed by hM enenwes tbat be ^id wot precipitately 
rmh into war ^with France, or interfere in «he ^iflEairs of that 
«otrntiy, while the French ^seemed tobeoperatiti^a^change 
by means which were rational; and ^ile their only dh- 
jectB seemed to be a representative government and a 
limited monarchy. It was >not ^until'they had destroyed tbe 
'fte0Aoa\ of their reprenents^ives by the terrifyingiidfiuenoe 
iX/f clubs and parties more powerful than tbeir 'legalised 
as^mblie^, >and otntil they had dragged tbeir belpliesstfove- 
.teign to the scaffold, that he saw. the danger that wouM 
ttocrue to evdf^ country wfaeve strch measures «bould be 
x^oiisidered as a preoed^trt. In England, jft might have 
been Ihought that the ^enormities whidh pMceded -and fol- 
lowed tbe eKecotion of ^the French king, would bave ex- 
ited (universal 'abhorrence ; ttbat a morsil, thinking, and 
industrious (people, prosperous beyond till^otrher nations -in 
-arts and commerce, cmd'secure 'beyond {^Uxottbers in the 
'essentials 0f liberty, ^wouldbave found no provocation to 
imitate the most inhuman ^barbarities of tbe darkest ages. 
{t aoon, howe^ier, appeared tbftt although «tbe majority 'Of 
*€he nation was dispensed to ^contemplate What had happened 
:in ifiranee, with the abhorreoee it was -tiaturally .ifitted >lo 
^create, a^party was arising, 'selected iiiileed fromi the lower 



pi^tt: 17 

ftncl ilKterate orders, bat guided by leaders of sofme knoW* 
ledge, arvd of great activity and resolution, who teemed 
determined on a close imitation of all the licentiousness o£ 
France, and whose attacks were at once directed against: 
tbe throne, the state, and the church. For, some time 
theit sentiments were considerably disguised. They af- 
fected moderation, and derived too much countenance 
from those who really were inclined to moderate changes^ 
moderate reforms ; and, with no little art, they rerived 
the popular delusions of annual parliaments and universal 
suffrage ; but ikioderation was neither the characteristic nor 
the object of this party : and finding themselves for some 
time unnoticed by goremnient, they began to disdain the 
protection of their insignificance, and boldly avowed that 
they did not mean to leave the accomplishment of theit 
projected changes to any of the legal authorities. In imi« 
tation of the Frencl> clubs, they were to produce the effect 
by self-created societies that should dictate to parliament, 
and when parliament was completely overawed, supply its 
place. 

Such were tbe effects which the proceedings in France 
had already produced in England, among a party, which^ 
if not originally numerous, was fast increasing, when Mr; 
Pitt thought it necessary to interfere. In taking this $tep 
he was accused of precipitation and of severity : the dan- 
gers he dreaded were represented as in a great measure 
imaginary ; and the plan he adopted ^ls said to be preg* 
nant with mischief to the freedom of the press* ft ap- 
peared, however, in consequence of inquiries instituted, 
that had he exercised a longer forbearance, the greatest of 
the dangers he apprehended must have followed in regular 
progress. Forbearance, in the republican language of the 
day, was ^^ timidity, and the happy consequence of the vi^ 
gour and spirit of the people.'* It was time therefore to 
set the question at rest by appealing to the nation at large; 
and Mr Pitt had no sooner begun the experiment 6f check*- 
ing a licentiousness so dangerous and unprovoked, than he 
was supported by the general mass of the people, who 
assembled in every county, city, town, and village, to 
testify their satisfaction with tbe constitution as then ad* 
ministered,* and 'to offer their lives and fortunes in support ^ 
of the gorvernment under which they had Sonrished. It 
has been objected to Mr. Pitt by his opponents tliat iA 
s6me instances he followed, rather than produced^ public 

Vol. XXV, C 



18 PITT, 

opinion : why this should be an objection with those woo 
hold public opinion sacred, we know not. In the present 
instance, however, it may be allowed as a matter of fact, 
and it is a fact very honourable to the people of England, 
that he had, at this crisis^ only to anticipate their wishes, 
and that in consequence of the precautions he took, harsh 
as they might have been thought at any other time, all the 
dangers of internal disturbance gradually disappeared, and 
the wild theories that had been propagated firom the presg 
either appeared ridiculous, or became obsolete. 

With respect to th^ origin of the war with France, there 
- was long a cdntroversy turning on the question, whether it 
might not have been avoided by Great Britain preserving 
her relations of amity with the republican government of 
that nation. The party in opposition to Mr. Pitt contended 
that this .was practicable, and the minister therefore was 
long censured as the cause, and held accountable for all 
the consequences of that war. The opinion of the minister, 
however, was, that enough had occurred in France to con- 
vince us that no relations of amity could be preserved with 
a country, which had decreed not only to spread its anar- 
chical principles, but to send its arms to every people that 
sought its assistance. A negociation, indeed, had been 
opened between the French minister in this country, and 
lord Grenville, secretary of state, but was conducted on 
the part of the former in such a manner as to prove fruit- 
less. The very last propositions offered by the French 
minister, lord Grenville said, involved new grounds of 
offence, which would prove a bar to every kind of negocia* 
tion. The pretended explanations, his lordship added, 
were insults rather than concessions or apologies ; and the 
motives which had induced his sovereign to prepare for 
violent extremities, still existed in full force ; nor would 
the preparations he discontinued or omitted, ^^jwhile the 
French retained that turbulent and aggressive spirit which 
threatened danger to every nation in Europe. ^^ By a subse- 
quent communication in the king's name, the French mi- 
nister was ordered to quit the realm within eight days. 
This mandate was considered by the French as equivalent 
io a declaration of war ; and, as soon^ as the intelligence 
reached Paris, the convention declared that the king of 
Great Britain, and the Stadtholder of the United Provinces, 
were to be treated as enemies of the republic. 

What has beea termed the system or the principle of 



* PITT. 1» 

Mr. Pitt in commencing and continuing the war with 
France, cannot perhaps be better e^opressed than in the 
abbve language of lord Grenville. Mr« Pitt considered it 
as our duty to continue it, ^^ while the French retained 
that tutbulent and aggressive spirit whix^h threatened dan- 
ger to every nation in Europe/' and which at length ac- 
tually destroyed the independence of every nation in £u- 
k rope, and ended in an attempt at universal empire^ and 

slavish subjection to the ruler of France. It was Mr. Pitt's 
opinion, and the opinion of all who acted with hioif of the 
great majority of parliament and of the people at large, 
that no peace could be permanent or secure with France 
until she hiad returned to her proper station among the na« 
tions of Europe, admitted of the independence of other na-' 
tions, and contented herself with the territories she pos« 
sessed at the commencement of the revolution. On this 
principle the war was instituted, and on this principle it 
was supported at a risk and an expense beyond all prece- 
cbnt, but with a success so inadequate to prodilkce the 
wished-fdr result, that when the opposition represented 
the continuance of it as obstinacy and infatuation, they 
seemed to speak a language which events fully justified. 
On our own element, our success was so great as to raise 
the character of our navy beyond all precedent; under 
such men as Howe, St. Vincent, Duncan, and Nelson, 
the navies of France, Spain, and Holland were almost 
annihilated, while ours bad become, humanly speaking, 
invincible. Mr. Pitt was therefore blamed for not confin- 
ing biinself to a naval war, and his sending troops to join 
the powers of Europe in league against France, was repre- 
sented as a, species of Quis^otism which would soon prove 
its, own absurdity. All this for some years seemed con- 
• firmed by. events. . The French armies not only out-num- 
bered those sent against them, but acquired a military skill 
absolutely new in their history. So freqi^ent and decisive 
were their victories that all resistance, seemed in vain, and 
either by valour or treachery they were enabled to dissolve 
every confederapy formed against them. Still the English 
minister saw nothing in this to prove his original opinion 
•to be wrong; France, he conceived, must be ruined at 
last by successes of ^ which she did not know how to make 
the proper use. With every extension of territory, she 
carried a portion of tyranny and a system of plunder and 
destruction, that must one day escite an effectual resist*^ 

c 2 



20 E IT T. 

ance in the nations which' sbe bad deloded by oflets of 
liberty and friendship^- Mr. Pitt and his supporters, tbere;- 
fore, persisted in die opinion that France miist at hist yteU 
to soihe confederacy or other; and when tbe state o£ £u«- 
rope was such as to render it unwise to send EngJisb troops 
to join the confederates, he conceived that no better use 
c6uld be made of the annual supplies dian'to subsidize the 
powers that were still willing to take the field. ' He even 
determined to continue the struggle when, ia 1800, Bona«- 
parte, ttie tnost successful of the French generals, had 
assumed the {sovereign powder, under the namd of codsiiI^ 
. and a4dressed a letter to our king intimatiog a desire for 
peace. The answer of our minister was, tfaait it would be 
useless to negociate while the French seemed to cherish 
those principles which had involved Europe in a long and 
destructive war. Anddltbough be gave bis assent to the 
«jtperimeiu made fay Mr. Addiiigton in ISOI^ to conclude 
B peace with the French goveranHent, he' soon bad reaatm 
to revert to his former sentiments, and: when recalled into 
office in 1 804, again exerted all the vigour of his charac- 
ter to render the contest successful. 

tfe did not, however^ live to witness diat glorious and 
wonderful termination which was at last brought about by it 
contitidance of the same system he ail alongpursued, and 
'Which finally ended in the conquest of France^ the annibi*- 
lation of her aroiies, and the banishm^ent of her ruler. 
The last event of importance in Mr« Pitt-s liie<-tiiiie was 
the fatal battle of AusterlitE, and be wait at this time in a 
state t)f health ill calculated to meet this lArolce. He had, 
from isin early period of life, given indicastions of inheriting 
his father's gouty constitution, with his talents, and it had 
been thought nee€|ssary to make the liberal use of wine a 
part of his ordinary regimen, a stimulant which, added to « 
the cares and exertions of office during bis long and mo- 
mentous adminifftration, broo^it on a premature exhaus- 
tion of the vital powers. In December 1 8^5^ he was* re- 
commended to go to Bath, but the efaange^tiforded him no 
permanent relief. On the ) Uh of January be returned to 
iiis seat at Putney, in so debilitated a state, as' to require 
four days for the perlbriiaance of the journey. The phy- 
aiclans, even yet, saw no danger, and they said liiere was 
no disease, but great weakness, in conseqiience of an ai^ 
tack of the gontk On the following Sunday be appeared 
better, ^nd entered upon some points of public business with 



PITT, Si 

Us toHoigues in oftoe : tbe subject wM-suppote^ to relate 
to the dissolution of tbe new confederacyy by the pea^e of 
Presburgb^ which greatly agiMiled ikm. On the I7tb> at 
a consultation of his physicians, it wa$ agreed, that though 
it was not adfrisabte be i^ould attend j^ business for the 
next two mouths^ yet there W9» hope he would be able to 
take a part in the House of CooMnqns in tbe course of th^ 
winter. On tbe 20th, however^ he grew .much wor^e, and 
his medical friends now saw that be was in the most iqnmi* 
nent danger, and that, probably, he had not many hours 
to lire. The bishop of Lincoln^ who never left him during 
his illness, informed bim of the opinion now entertained 
by sir Walter Far^bar, and requested fee administer to 
him the consolations of religion. Mr. Pitt asked sir WaU* 
ter, who stood near his bed, ^^ How long do you think I 
have to live ?" The physician answered that he could not 
say, at the same time he expressed a faint hope of his re« 
covery. A half smile on the patient's countenance shewed 
that he placed this langu£^e to its true account. In an-> 
swer to the bisbop^s request to pray with bimy Mr, Fitt 
replied, *^ I fear I have, like too many other men, ne* 
glected prayer too much, to have anyground for hope that 
it can be efficacious on a death-bed*-*but,*' making an 
effort to rise as he spoke, ^^ I throw myself entirely on tbe 
mercy of God.'' The bishop then read the prayers, and 
ib. Pitt Appeared to join in them with a calm and humble 
piety, fle desired that the arrangement of his papers and 
the settlement of his affairs might be left to his brother 
and tbe bishop of Lincolu. Adverting to his nieces, the 
daughters of earl Stanhope by bis elder sister, for whom 
be bad manifested tbe sincerest affection, be said, ^' t could 
wisb> a thoiBand or fifteen hundred a«-year to be given 
them ; if the public should think my long services deserv- 
ing of it." He expressed also much anxiety respecting 
major Stanhope, that youthful hero, who fell a sacrifice to 
his. valour at Corunna, in company with bis friend and 
patron, general sir John Moore, and his brother, who was 
also at Corunna at the . same time, and who has been en- 
gaged in all the great battles in the peninsula, and more 
than once severely: wounded in his. country's service. Mr. 
Pitt died about four o'clock in. tbe morniog of tbe 23d of 
January 1806, in the 47th year of his age« A public fu- 
neral was decreed to his. honour by parliament, and 40,P00/« 
to pay those debts which be had incurred in his country'^ 



M i* I T-T. 

service. . Public momnnento have teen «inoe erected to 
bis memdry in Westminster-Abbef, in die Guil^iall of 
the city of London, and by nany public bodies in different 
parts of the kingdom. 

In this sketch, we have avoided entering into those de- 
tails which belong to history, although convinced that Mr. 
Pitt's character as a statesman can never be duly appreci- 
ated, if detached from the events which he attempted to 
controul. Something yet remains to be added respecting 
his personal character. 

Mr. Pitt possessed no particular advants^es of person or 
physiognomy, but as a speaker he was thought to be with- 
out a rival ; such was the happy choice of his words, the- 

'judicious arrangement of his subject, and the fascinating 
effect of a perennial eloquence, that bis wonderful powers 
were acknowledged even by those who happened to be 
prepossessed against his arguments. In his financial speeches 
he manii^ted a perspicuity, eloquence, and tident, aito^ 
gether wonderful ; which carried the audience along with 
him in every arithmetical statement left no calculation ob- 

. scure or ambiguous, and impressed the House, at its close, 
with tumultuous admiration. When employed^ say his op- 
ponents, in a good cause, he was irresistible ; and in a bad 
one he could dazzle the judgment, lead the imagination 
captive, and seduce the heart, even while the mind re- 
mained firm and unconvinced. Yet they allow that al- 
though ambition and the love of power were his ruling 
passions, his mind was elevated above the meanness of 
avarice. His personal integrity was unimpeached, and so 
far was be from making use of his opportunities to acquire 
wealth, that he died involved in debts, wbicb negligence, 
and the demands of his public station, rather than extrava- 
gance, had obliged him to contract ; for his tastes were 
simple, and he does not appear to have had a fondness for 
splendour or parade. His private character has been drawn 
by a friend (the right hon. George Rose), and it corre«« 
sponds perfectly with other accounts that we have had from 
those much in his confidence, and who were frequently in 
bis company at times when the man and not the minister 
was displayed in alt its native colours : *' With a manner 
somewhat reserved and distant in what might be termed 
bis public deportment, no man was ever better qualified to 
gain, or more successful in fixing, the at^cbment of his 
friends, than Mr. Pitt. They saw all the powerful energies 






PITT. 23 

of bis character softened into the most perfect complacency 
and sweetness of dietposition in the circles of private life> 
the pleasures of which no one more cheerfully enjoyed, or 
more agreeably promoted, when the paramount duties he 
conceiTed himself to owe the public, admitted of his mix*- 
ing in them* That indignant severity with which be met 
and subdued what he considered unfounded opposition; 
that keenness of sarcaun with which he expelled and 
withered, as it might be said, the powers of most of his 
assailants in debate, were exchanged in the society of hi^ 
intimate friends for a kindness of heart, a gentleness of 
demeanour, and a playfulness of good humour, which no 
one ever witnessed without interest, or participated with- 
out delight/' > 

PITTACUSy one of the seven sages of Greece, of whom 
some sayings are preserved, . but not many particulars of 
his life, was born at Mitylene in the island of Lesbos^ 
about 64d B. C. By his valour and abilities be obtained 
the sovereignty of his native city, which he employed only 
to lead the people to happiness, by giving them the best 
laws he could devise. Having fulfilled this task, and put 
his laws into verse, according to the fashion of the times, 
that they might be more easily remembered, he resigned 
bis authority, and returned to a private life. His fellow- 
citizens would have rewarded his benefits by a large dona- 
tion of land^ but be positively refused to accept more than 
a circular portion, taking the cast of hia javelin from, the 
centre every way, as the measure of its circumference. 
** It is better," be said, ** to convince my country that I 
am sincerely disinterested, than to possess great riches." 
He died about 679 B. C. aged seventy. Some of his say* 
it)gs were, ** The first office of prudence is to foresee 
^hr^satening misfortunes, and prevent them. Power dis- 
covers the man. Never talk of your schemes before they 
are executed ; lest, if you fail to accomplish them, you 
be exposed to the double mortification of disappointment 
and ridicule^ Whatever you do, do it well. Do not that 
to your neighbour, which you would take ill from him. 
Be watchful for opportunities, .&c." ' 

PITTIS (Thomas), an £nglish divine, was born in the 
Isle of Wight, and became a commoner of Trinity coir 

s Oifford't Life of Pitt, Sec. &e. &c 

* Fenelon's Livey of tbe Philosophers. — Brncker^ 



84 P I T '^ I S. 

legef Oxford^ in 1652^ where, after takiog the de^ee 
of B. A. be removed to Lincoln college, and had the 
reputation of a good disputant. Having taken his mas- 
-ter^s degree be gave offence to the then ruling party in the 
university, by a speech he made in the character of TenrsB 
JFilius, for which he was expelled, in 1658. Oo the re- 
storation he was preferred to the rectory of Gatcombe ie 
the Isle of Wight, proceeded in his degrees of B. and D. D. 
and was made one of his majesty's chaplaiils in ordinary. 
Dr. Morley, bishop of Winchester, gave him afterward^ 
the living oJF Holy Rood in Southampton, and the king the 
rectory of Lutterworth in Leicestershire, which he ex- 
•changed for that of St. Botolph. Bishopsgate^ London. 
This last he held at his death, along with the rectory of 
Gatcombe, his chaplainship, and the lectureship of Christ- 
church, Newgate-8treet» He died Dec. 28, 1.687, and was 
buried at Gatcombe. Besides a few occasional sermons, 
he published, i. *' A private conference between a rich 
alderman and a poor country vtcar,'* &c. respecting the ob- 
ligation of oaths, Lond. 1670, Svo. 2. ^' A Discourse on 
Prayer,"^c. 1683, 8vo, and, which is still frequently to 
he met with. 3. << A discourse concerning the trial of 
Spirits,'* against enthusiastic notions of inspiration, 1684, 
8vo. ' 

PIUS n. (Pope), whose name was iENEAS Sylvius Pic- 
iCOLOMiNi, was born in 1405, at Corsignano in Sienna, 
where his father liyed in exile. He was educated at the 
grammar«-school of that place ; but bis parents being in low 
circumstances, he was obliged, in his early years, to sub- 
mit to many servile employments. In 1423, by the assist- 
-ance of his friends,- be was enabled to go to the uliiversity 
4)f Sienna, where he applied himself to his studies with 
-great success, and in a short time published several pieces 
in the Latin and Tuscan languages. In 1431 he au^nded 
cardinal Dominic Capranica to the council of Basil as his 
secretary. He was likewise in the same capacity with car- 
dinal Albergoti, who seat him to Scotland to mediate a 
•peace betwixt the English and Scots ; and he was in that 
country when king James I. was murdered. Upon his re- 
-turn from Scotland, he was made secretary to the council 
t>f Basil, which he defended against the authority of the 
popes, both by his speeches and writings, particularly in 

«• Ath. Ox. Tol. 11. 



PIUS. 25 

adiak^ue'and^pistks which he wrote to the rebtot and 
UDiversity df Cologn* He was Ukewise made by that 
council clerk of the ceremonies, abbreviator, an4 one of 
the duodecemviri, Or twelve men, an office of igreat im- 
poilanee. He was employed iti several embassies; btoce 
to Trent, another time to Frahkfort, twice to CoAstaocey 
and as often t6 Sav.dy, and thrice to Strasburg, where he 
had an intrigue with a lady, by whom he bad a son ; he 
has given an account of this affair in a letter to his father^ 
in whidh he endeavours to vindicate himself with much in^ 
deb^fit buffoonery. In 1439 he was employed in the ser- 
Tice of pdpe Felix ; and being soon after sent ambassador 
to the etxiperor Frederic, he was crowned by him with the 
poetic hiurel, and ranked amongst his friends. In 1442 
he wa^ sent for from Basil by the emperor, who appointed 
him secretary to the empire, and raised him to the senato- 
rial order. He could not at first be prevailed on to con- 
'demn the council of Basi], nor to go over absolutely to 
Eagenius^s party, but remained neuter. However, when 
the emperor' Frederic began to favour Eugenius, iEneas 
hkewise changed his' opinion gradually. He afterwards 
represented the emperor in the diet of Nuremberg, when 
they were consulting about methods to put an end to the 
schism, and was sent ambassador to Eugenius : at the per- 
-saasibh of Thomas Sarzanus, the apostolical legate in 
Germany, he submitted to Eugenius entirely, and made 
the following speech to his holiness, as related by John Go- 
belin, in his Commentaries of the life of Pius II. " Most 
holy father (said he), before I declare the emperor's com- 
mission, give me leave to say one word concerning myself, 
I do Hot question but you have heard a great many things 
which are not to -my advantage. They ought not to have 
been mentioned to you ; but I must confess, that my ac- 
cuseds have reported nothing but what is true. I own I 
have said, and done, and written, at Basil, many things 
against your interests ; it is impossible to deny it : yet all 
this has been done not with a design to injure you, but to 
serve the church. I have beien in an error, without ques- 
tion ; 'but I have been in just the ^ame circumstances with 
many great m6n, as particularly with Julian cardinal of St. 
Angelo, with Nicholas archbishop of Palermo, with Lewis 
du Pont (Pontanus) the secretary of the holy see; men 
•who are esteemed the greatest luminaries in the law, and 
doctors pf the truth ; to omit mentioning the universities 



26 PIUS. 

and colleges which are generally against you. Who ^oiild 
not have erred with persons of their character and merit? 
It is true, that when I discovered the error of those at 
3asil, I did not at . first go over to you, as the greatest 
part did ; but being afraid of falling from one error to 
another, and by avoiding Charybdis, as the proverb ex- 
presses it, to run upon Scylla, I joined myself, after a 
\^^ long deliberation and conflict within myself, to those who 
thought proper to continue in a state of neutrality. I lived 
three years in the emperor's court in this situation of mind, 
where having an opportunity of hearing constantly the 
disputes between those of Basil and your legates, I was 
convinced that the truth was on your side : it was upon this 
motive that, when the emperor thought fit to send- me to 
your clemency,,! accepted the opportunity with the utmost 
satisfaction, in hopes that I should be so happy as co gain 
your favour again : I throw myself therefore at your feet; 
and since I sinned out of ignorance, I entreat you to grant 
me your pardon. After which I shall open to you the em- 
peror's intentions." This was the prelude to the famous 
retraction which ^neas Sylvius made afterwards. The 
pope pardoned every thing that was past ; and in a short 
time made him his secretary, without obliging him to quit 
the post which he had with the emperor. 

He was sent a second time by the emperor on an em- 
bassy to Eugenius, on. the following occasion : the pepe 
, having deposed Thierry and James, archbishops and elec- 
tors of Colpgn and Treves, because they had openly de- 
clared for Felix and the council of Basil, the electors of 
the empire were highly offended at this proceeding ; and 
at their desire the emperor sent £neas Sylvius to prevail 
on the pope to revoke the sentence of deposition. 

Upon the decease of pope Eugenius, Mneas was chosen 
by the cardinals to preside in the conclave till another pope 
should be elected. He was made bishop of Trieste by 
pope Nicholas, and went again into Germany, where he 
was appointed counsellor to the emperor, and had the di- 
rection of all the important affairs of the empire. Four 
years after he was made archbishop of Sienna; and in 1452 
he attended Frederic to Rome, when he went to receive 
the imperial crown. .£neas, upon his return, was named 
legate of Bohemia and Austria. About 1456, being sent 
by the emperor into Italy, to treat with pope Callixtus III* 
about a war with the Turks, he was made a cardinal. 



PIUS. t7 

Up(Ki the decease of CaUixtus,^ in 1458 be wan idected 
pope by the name of Pius II. After bis proaiotion to the 
papal chair he published a bull, retracting all be had 
written in defence of the council of Basil, with an apolog)^ 
which shows how little he was influenced by principle : 
'^ We are men (sajs he), and we have erred as men ; we 
do .not deny, but that many things which we have said or 
written, may justly be condemned < we have been seduced, 
like Paul, and have persecuted the church of God through 
ignorance; we now follow St. Austin's example, who, 
having suffered several erroneous sentiments to escape him 
in his writings, retracted them ; we do jmst the same thing : 
we ingenuously confess our ignorance, oeing apprehensive 
lest what we have written in our youth should occasion 
some error, which may prejudice the holy see. For if it 
is suitable to any person's character to maintain the emi« 
nence and glory of the first throne of the church, it is cer- 
tainly so to ours, whom the merciful God, out of pure 
goodness, has raised to the dignity of vicegerent of Christ, 
without any merit on our part. For all these reasons, we 
exhort you and advise you in the Lord, not to pay any 
regard to those writings, which injure in any manner the 
authority of the apostolic see, and assert opinions which 
the holy Roman church does not receive. If you find any 
thing contrary to this in our dialogues and letters, or in 
any other of our works, despise such notions, reject them, 
follow what we maintain now ; believe what I assert now I 
am in years, rather than what I said when I was young : 
regard a pope rather than a private man ; in shorty reject 
JEneas Sylvius, and receive Pius II." 

Pius behaved in his high office with considerable spirit 
and activity ; but more as a temporal prince, than. the head 
of the church. During his pontificate he received ambas<- 
sadors from the patriarchs of the east: the chief of the 
embassy was one Moses, archdeacon of Austria, a man well 
vemed in the Greek and Syriac languages, and of a distin- 
guished character. He appeared before his holiness in the 
name of the patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jeru* 
salem ; be told his holiness, that the enemy who sows tares 
having prevented them till then from receiving the decree 
of the (council of Florence, concerning the union of the 
Greek and Latin churches, God had at last inspired them 
with a resolution of submitting to it; that it had been 
solempjy agreed to,, in an assembly called together for that 



as p I u s. 

• 

purpose ; and that for the future they would unanimously 
siibtnit to the pope as vicegerent of Jesus Christ. Pius 
oomnsended the patriarchs for their obedience, aiid or« 
dered Moses's speech to be translated into Latin, and laid 
mp amongst the archives of the Roman church. A few 
days after the arrival of these ambassadors from the east, 
there came others also from Peloponnesus, who offered 
obedience to the pope, and he received them in the name 
•f the church of Rome, and sent them a governor, 
. Pius, in- the latter part of his pontificate, made great 
preparations against the Turks, for which purpose he snm<« 
fnoned the assistance of the several princes in £uit>pe ; and 
having raised a con^derable number of troops, he went to 
Ancona to see them embarked ; where he was seized with 
a fever, and died the 14th of August, 1464, in the fifty^ 
ninth year of his age, and the seventh of his pontificate. 
His body was carried to Rome, and interred in the Vati- 
can. The Roman catholic, writers are profuse in theit^ 
praises of this pope, whose character, however^ whether 
private or public, will not bear the strictest scrutiny. His 
secretary, John Gobelin, published a history of his life^ 
which is supposed to have been written by this pope him<^ 
self: it was printed at Rome in quarto in 1584 and 1589 ; 
and at Francfort in folio in 1614. We have an edition of 
£neas Sylvius's works, printed at Basil, in folio, in 1551. 
They consist of Memoirs of the Council of B^ie ; The 
History of the Bohemians from their origin till A. D. 1458; 
Cosmography, in two books; the History of Frederick III. 
whose vice-chancellor he was ; a Treatise on the educa- 
tion of children ; a Poem on the Passion of Jesus Christ; 
a collection of 482 Letters ; Historia rerum ubicunque 
gestarum ; the first part only of which was published at 
Venice in 1477, fol. Euryalus and Lucretia, a romance. 
A collection of all these, with his life, was also published 
at Uelmstadt in 1700, fol. He was, notwithstanding the 
applauses of the catholics, a man of great ambition, and 
great duplicity. He has been praised for bis wise and 
witty sayings, but he was also famous for sayings of a very 
different description. He indulged himself, respecting the 
reformers, in a rancour of language which must be offen- 
sive to every sober Christian ; and his letters show that be 
indulged great licence in point of morals. Mr. Gilpin, 
after selecting some striking proofs of this, says, ^^ Such is 
the testimony which ^Xneas Sylvius bath given us of him* 



P I U S.. . "20 

telf. It may serve to invalidate .what be hath ^aid of others'; 
as it seems entirely to show that his ceosures are founded 
tipon a mere difference of opinion, . without any regard to 
practice, which is 0110 of the characteristics of bigotry;. 
They who . are not acquainted with the history of this 
writer will be surprised to hear that the man of whom we 
have this authentic character, was not only a pope, but is 
acknowledged by the generality of popish writers, as one 
of the most respectable of all the Roman pontiffs." ^ 

PIZARRO (Francis), the conqueror of Peru, cele«- 
brated rather for his abilities than for his virtues, his glory 
being tarnished by the cruelties which he practised towards 
thosq whom he had conquered, was the illegitimate son of 
a gentleman, by a very low woman, and apparently des«- 
tined by his ungenerous parent not to rise above the cons- 
ditton of his mother, being put to the mean employment 
of keeping hogs. I'he genius of young Pizarro disdained 
this Ipw occupation. He enlisted as a soldier, served 
some time in Italy, and then embarked for America, which 
offered at that period a strong allurement to every active 
adventurer. Distinguished by^ his utter disdain of every 
hardship and danger, be was soon regarded, though so 
illiterasus that he was unable to read, as a man formed for 
command ; and being settled in Panama, where tb^ Spa** 
nish emigrants had found their sanguine expectations 
wholly disappointed, he united in 1524 with Diego de 
Almagro, another military adventurer, and Hernando 
Lucque, a priest, to prosecute discoveries to the eastward 
of that settlement. This attempt had frequently been made, 
but had failed through the inability of the persons con-^ 
cemed in it; it had now fallen into such han4s as were 
calculated to make it successful, and their confederacy was 
sanctioned by the governor of Panama. The enterprise 
was begun in a very humble manner. Pizarro set sail 
with a single vessel, and, from universal ignorance of the 
tilimate^ at the very worst season of the year, in Novem- 
ber, when the periodical winds were precisely against hia 
course. He had no success, nor was his colleague Alma^ 
fro, who^ followed, more fortunate. After undergoing er- 
treoie hai^dships, and obtaining only a glimpse qi' a better 
oountry, the utmost they could do was to establish them- 
selves- id an island near the coast Nothing could deter 

4 Ca^y Tol. 11.— Platioa.— Gen. Diet. 



so P I Z A R Tl O. 

Pizarro from his enterprise ; the refusal of further saDction 
from the governor, the desertion of all his associates, ex- 
cept thirteen, all was in vain. He remained with his small 
band, till, in spite of all obstacles, they obtained another 
vessel, with some reinforcements. They set sail again in 
1 526, and on the twentieth day after their departure, dis- 
covered the fertile coast of Peru. They were yet too 
weak to attempt the invasion of an empire so populous^ 
and Pizarro .contented himself with carrying back, by 
means of an amicable intercourse,, such specimens of the 
wealth and civilization of the country as might invite others 
to accede to the enterprise. Unable to bring the governor 
of Panama to adopt his views, he returned to Spain, and 
explaining to that court the magnitude of the objectj^ ob- 
tained every grant of authority he could wish, but no other 
assistance; and being left to his own resources^ could 
have effected nothing had he not been assisted with money 
by Cortez, just then returned from Mexico. It was Fe^ 
bruary 1531, before he and his associates were again able 
to sail from Panama on their great undertaking ; and tbea 
their whole armament consisted only of three smalL vessels 
and 180 soldiers, thirty-six of whom were horsemen. 
When they landed in Peru, as they had the imprudence 
to attack the. natives, ipstead of conciliating them, they 
were at first exposed to famine, and several other cala- 
mities. Pizarro, however, had the good fortune to enter 
Peru when the forces of the empire were divided by an 
obstinate civil war between Huascar the legitimate mo- 
narch, and Atahualpa. (commonly called Atabalipa), his 
half brother. By degrees understanding the state of the 
country, , Pizarro engaged to be the ally of Atahualpa, and 
under that pretence was permitted to penetrate unmolested 
to Caxamalca, twelve days* journey within the country*; 
He was received pacifically and with state, as the ambas^ 
sador of a great monarch ; but, perfidiously taking advan** 
tage of the unsuspecting good faith of Atahualpa, he made 
a sudden attack, and took him. prisoner. The exaction of 
an immense ransom, the division of which served to invite 
new invaders ; the disgraceful breach of faith by which the 
king was )^ept a prisoner after his ransom was paid ; and 
the detestable murder of him, a short time after, under the 
itifamous mockery of a trial ; with the insults superadded 
by bigotry, to make him die a Christian, without being 



P I Z A R R O. %i 

tible to comprehend that faith ; all contribate to accumu- 
late disgrace upon the head of the treacherous and unfeeU 
iog conqueror, and form such odious additions to the re- 
proachful scenes acted by the Spaniards in America, as 
potliing can palliate or obliterate. Pizarro, favoured by 
4he distracted state of Peru, which now increased, though 
Huascar had been put to death by order of his brother, 
aod reinforced by more soldiers from Spain, proceeded in 
his conquests, and on Jan. 18, 1535, laid the foundation 
of Lima, called by bim and his countrymen Ciiiidad de ios 
Reyes. In 15:17 he found a new enemy in his original 
associate Aimagro, who claiming Cuzco, the ancient ca- 
pital of Peru, .as belonging to his jurisdiction, got posses- 
sion of it. This, and other advantages gained by him, at 
ooce distressed and roused Pizarro. They came to an 
engagement in 1538, in which Aimagro was defeated and 
taken prisoner ; and, after an interval of confinement, was 
tried and executed. This was the last of the successes of 
Pizarro^ the son and friends of Aimagro conspired against 
him, aod on June 26, 1541, he was assassinated by them 
in his palace, making a most resolute defence, well worthy 
of his long-tried courage. He was at this time advanced 
in years, though his exact age is not known. The glory 
be justly acquired by military talents, courage, and saga- 
city, would have placed him in the rank of heroes, hdd 
not his. character been disgraced by the indelible stains of 
perfidy and cruelty. ^ 

PLACCIUS (Vincent), an eminent philologer of Ham^ 
bnrgb^ where he was borni in 1642, completed his studies 
at Heloistadt and Leipsic, and improved his talents by tra-' 
veiling in France and Italy. When he returned, he ap- 
plied himself to the bar, and afterwards became professor 
of. morals and eloquence, in which situation he continued 
twenty-four years. He was beloved by his pupils, and 
when be died, April 6, 1699, regretted by his countrymen 
in general, who hadconlsidered him as an oracle. His works 
are, i. ^' A Dictionary of anonymous and pseudonymous 
• Authors/' published in 1708, in 2 vols, folio, by the care 
of Fabricius ; a curious work, but abounding with faults. 
2. *^ Dejarisconsulto perito Liber,'' 1693, 8vo. 3. << Car- 
iBina juveoilia," Ams^. 1667, 12mo. 4. <^De arte excer* 
pendi," Hamburgh, 1689, 8vo, with several others, all 

I Robertson's Hist of Am^ica. 



32 . PL ACE. . 

testifying, and abandantly proving, his talents and eruT 
dition. ' 

PLACE (Francis), a man of taste in various pursuits^ 
but chiefly known as an e;igraver, was the son of Mr, 
Rowland Place, of Dinsdale, in the county of Durham* 
He was at first intended for the law, and was placed as ft 
clerk to an attorney in London, with whom he resided 
until 1665, when a house be had taken being shut up on 
account of the plague, he left London and quitted his pro* 
fession at the same time. He now turned projector, and 
expended considerable sums of money in attempting to 
make pofcelaine, which be put in practice at the manor«« 
house of York. In this it is probable be bad .not due per-* 
severance ; for one Clifton, of Pontefract, took, the hint 
from him, and realized a fortune. Who was his teacher ;as 
an artist is not known, and his works are very rare, for he 
painted, drew, etched, and engraved, merely for hia own 
amusement ; and as his productions prove him a man of 
great abilities, it is to be lamented that he had not:equai 
application, and left many valuable designs unfinished^ In 
the reign of Charles IL it is said he was offered a pension 
of 500/. to draw the royal navy, but he refused this sum, 
large as it then was, from a dislike of confinement and de<- 
pendence. He died in 1728, and his widow, on quitting 
the manor*house at York, disposed of his paintings ; among 
which was an admired picture of fowls, others of fishes 
and flowers unfinished, together with bis own portrait by . 
himself. He left behind him a daughter, who was manded 
to Wadham Wyndham, esq. This lady was living' iu 1764. 

His etchings, particularly of landscapes and birds, from 
Griffier, are admirable. The free, style in which he 
treated the foliage of his trees, proves bis judgment and 
good taste ; and his portraits in mezaotinto are excellent. 
Among the latter, Strutt mentions bishop Crew, archbishop 
Sterne, Dr. Comber, dean of Durham, Henty Gyles, the 
artist, and general Lambert. In Thoresby's Topogmphy 
of Leeds are some churches drawn by Place; the. plates 
for Godartius's book of Insects ar«e by him; and he also 
executed many views in Yorkshire. ' . . . i 

PLACE (Joshua de la), a learned protestant minister, 
and celebrated professor of divinity at Saumur, was de*- 

^ Chaufepie, an elaborate article.— •Diet Hist. — MorhofiTs Polybistor. 
3 I^rd Orford's Catalq|[;ofr^of J^riiTyirs.-«<n^U'uJbt'tI>ictionary. 



PLACE. $t 

I 

sce&ded from a Boble and ancient family, 8|id born in 
I596n He gained great credit by his writings ifgainst the 
SoeioiaBfly but beld a singular opinion concerning the 
imputation of Adam^s sini which was condemned in a 
French synod. He died August 7, 1655, at Saumur> aged 
fifty-nine. His works were reprinted at Franeker, 1699, 
and 1703, 4to^ 2 torn. The first contains a treatise *^0a 
Types ;" treatises on *' The imputation of Adam^s first 
Sin, Of, '^ The order of the Divine Decrees, and on Free- 
will^-' with an '* Abridgment of Theology :^' the second 
Tolume contains his ** Disputes against the Sociniana,'* the 
most important part of his works. He also wrote ^' An 
Examination of the arguments for and against the Sacri- 
fice of the Mass," 8vo. ' 

PLACE (Peter be la), in Latin Plateaxus, a learned 
French writer, was born at Angoul£me in t526« He ap-« 
plied with success to the study of jurisprudence, and in 
1548 published a Latin paraphrase on the titles of the 
Idiperial' institutes, ^^ De Actionibus, Exceptionibus et 
Interdictis," in 4to. After this he was called to the bar of 
the paiiiament of Paris, and acquired the character of a 
learned, eloquent, and virtuous counsellor. Francis L 
appointed him advocate of his court of aids at Paris, and 
he discharged the duties of that office with so much talent 
and integrity, that Henry H. nominated him his first pre- 
liidest in the same court. He became, in consequence of 
hearing Qalvip, a convert to the protestant religion in 1554^ 
and made an open profession of it on the death of Francis 
IL On the breaking out of the civil war be retired to one 
«f his bonsisa in Picardy ; but at the peace in 1562 vindi- 
cated himself before the king from the several charges 
which had been preferred against him. He was now ap- 
pmnted by the prince of Conde superintendant of the 
houselsold, and accompanied his highness to the castle of 
yi in the Valois, where be continued till Charles IX. 
granted the protestants, advantageous terms of peace in 
I54>9;. that he might the more easily extirpate them. La 
Place, deceived by this treachery, returned to Paris, and 
wdm executing the office of president to the court of aids, 
when he was put to death in the most treacherous as well 
as barbarous manner in the general massacre of the pro- 
testants on 'St. Bartholomew's day, in 1572, at the age of 

> Moreri.— Diet. Hist« 

Vol. XXV. D 






8* PLACE. 

forty •i>six. His clear j adgment and discrimination adorirsbljf^ 
qualified biin for the office of magistrate. His chief works 
are, ^* Commentaries on the state of Religion, and of the 
Commonwealth, from 1556 to 1561 ;'' *• A Treatise on the 
right use of Moral Philosophy in connection with the Christ 
tian Doctrine ;*' and ** A Treatise on the excellence of the 
Christian Man." * 

PLACENTINUS, or PLACENTIUS (PETia), is said* 
to have been the real name of a German author, who,- 
under the fictitious one of Publius Porcius Porcellus, wrote' 
the Latin poem entitled ^^ Pugna porcorum/' consisting of 
360 verses, in which every word begins with a P. It wSis 
published separately at Antwerp, in 1 530, and is in the 
^^ NugsD venales," &c. We have followed Baillet in call-*': 
ing him Peter Placentihus, but' Le Clerc says that his 
name was John Leo Placentius, a Dominican monk, who 
died about 1548, and that he composed an history of the 
bishops of Tongres, Maestricht, and Liege, taken out of 
&bulous memoirs, and several poems besides the *^ Pugna 
Porcorum/' In this last he imitated one Theobaldus, a 
Benedictine monk, who flourished in the time of Charted 
the Bald, to .whom be presented a panegyric on baldness,' 
every word of which began with the letter C \cahities^ 
baldness). Placentinus is said to have had another obj|cty 
to^satirize the sloth of the prelates, but this is not easily 
discoverable. Some discussion on the ^^ Pugna Porcorum,"^ 
if our readers think it worthy of farther inquiry, may be 
found in our authorities. ' 

PLACETTE (John de la), a protestant minister of 
great eminence, was born at Pontac in Berne, Jan* 1 9^* 
163*9 ; and his father, who was a minister, trained him with 
the greatest attention and care. From 1660, he' exercised 
the ministry in France; but, after the revocation of the 
edict of Nantz in 1685, be retired to Denmark, where ha 
continued till the death of the queen in 1711 ; for that 
princess, apprised of his great merit,, kept him near her. 
From Denmark he passed to Holland, and fixed himself 
first at the Hague ; then removed to Utrecht, where be 
(jlied April 25, 1718, aged seventy^nine. He was the au-' 
tbor of many works upon piety and morality, which are 

• I Gen. Diet* where is an interetting aocouot of hit death.— Bibl.. CcQix d« 

Maine. 

s Baillet dee auteun degyisez.-^Merrick's Tryphiodonis, Dit»ertaUon, p. %S^ 
Maf , XLVl. p. 511 ^nd 603 ; and XLVIf. p. 70. 



P L A C E T T E. 3S^ 

reckoned excellent in their kind ; and of some of the po-^ 
lemic kind, against the church of Rome, and particularly 
against Bayle's sceptical works. Among these we may 
enumerate, 1. *^ Nouveaux Essais deMorafe,'* 6 vols. l2mo. 

2. << Triiit€ de TOrgueil," the best edition of which is 16^9. 

3. ** Traits de la Conscience." 4. " Trait6 de la Restitu* 
tion." 5. ^* La'Communion devote," the best edition* of 
which is that of 1699. 6. << Trait^ des bonnes CEuvres ea 
g^ncral," 7. « Trait6 du Serment." 8. " Divers Trait^s 
^r des Matieres de Conscience/' 9. *^ La Mort des 
Jttstes." 10. "Traits de I'Aumdoe." 11. «Trait6 des 
Jeux de Hazard." 12. << La Morale Chretien abr^g^e," 
1701. 13. <* Reflexions Cbr^tiennes sur divers Sujets de 
Morale/' all in'I2mo. 14. '^ De'Insanabili Ecclesia Ro<- 
man&, Sceptitismo, Ditoertatio," 16d6, or 1696, 4to; IS. 
^* De rAutorit6 des Sens centre la Transubstantiation," 
12mo. . 16. "Traits de la Fbi divine," 4 vol^. 4to. 17. 
** Dissertation sur divers Sujets de Th^ologie et de Mo« 
rale," 12mo, &c. Some of the above have been pub« 
li»hed in English, particularly the '^ Treatise on Con* 
scietice,*' and that on the ** Death of the Just." ^ 

' PLANTIN (Christopher), an eminent printer, was 
born at Mont- Louis, near Tours, in 1514. He was in- 
structed in his art at Caen, under Robert MaCe, whence 
hp went to Antwerp, and formed by degrees one of the' 
greatest establishments for printing in Europe, and said 
indeed to be uni<)ue in its kind. The whole iiras upon the 
most magnificent scale, and even the building was ac* 
counted one of the ornaments of the city of Antwerp, and 
was so amply furnished with presses, founts of letter of 
all sorts, a foundery, and other matters necessary for the 
<ionceriii, as' to have cost an immense sum of nnoney. One 
of his biographers informs us -that Plantings ideas were so' 
Bo^nificent as that he cast sonie founts in silver, and con- 
sidered himself as having in that respect done what no other 
printer bad attempted ; but this is a mistake^ as Robert 
Stephens bad before indulged himself in the luxury of 
silver types, although not so rich a man as Plantin. ' In 
1576 Tbnanuis' pa4d a visit to Plantin; who, although n6t 
now in such good circumstances, still had seventeen presses 
st#ori[, and the wages of bis workmen amounted to 200 

florias per day. But what redounds most to his credit was 

• . » . . ^ - t • » 

. , , ^ NiceroOf toI. XI.— Moreri. 

D 2 



^8- PLATER- 

He possessed an extensive.knawledge of anatomy, botany, 
natural history, and other branches Of science, and coo- 
tributed much to the celebrity of his native university, in 
which he was a teacher upwards of fifty years. He died 
in July 1614, in the seventy -eighth year of his age. He 
l^ft the following works: ^* De Corporis humani structura 
et usu Libri tres,'' Basle, 1583, and 1603, folio ; " De Fe- 
bribus Liber," Francfort, 1597; "Praxeos Medica Tomi 
tres,^' Basle, 1602 ; ^^ Observationum MecHciualium Libri 
ires," ibid. 1614, &c. ; " Consilia Medica,'' Francf. 1615, 
in the collection of Brend^Hus; *' De GangraensL Epistola,"' 
in the first century o^ the letters of Hildanus. After bis 
death were published ^* Qus&stionum Medicaruoi paradox- 
arum et eudoxarum Centuria posihuma,^' Basle, 1625, edited 
by his brother, Thomas Plater ; and " Qusestiones Pbysip- 
]ogic8B de partium in utero conformatione,V Leyden, 1650.* 
PLATINA (Bartolomeo Sacchi)j so called, a learsjed 
Italian, and author of a ^^ History of the Popes,'' was born 
in 1421 at Piadena, in Latin Platina, a village between 
Cremona and Mantua ; whence betook the name by which 
be is generally known. He first embraced a military life, 
which be followed for a considerable time ; but afterwards 
devoted himself to literature, and made a considerable pro- 
gress in it. He went to Rome under Calixtus HL.who was 
piade pope in 1455 ; and procuring an introduction to car- 
dinal Bessarion, he obtained some small benefices of pope 
Pius n. who succeeded Calixtus in 1458, and afterwards was 
appointed to.an office which Pius H. created, called the; col- 
lege of apostolical abbrevtators. But when Paul H. suc- 
ceeded Pius in 1464, Platina^s affairs took a very unfavour- 
able turn. Paul hated him because he was the! favourite of 
his predecessor Pius, and removed all the abbreviators 
from their employments, by abolishing -their places, n^- 
withstanding some had purchased them with great ^ums of 
money. On this Platina ventured to complain ta the pope^ 
and most humbly besought him to order their cause tp be 
judged by the auditors of the Rota. The pope was pffend-r 
ed at the liberty, and gave hini a very haughty repulse : 
** Is it thus,'' said he, looking at him sternly, ** is it thus, 
that you summon us before your judges, as if you knew 
not that all laws were centered in our breast i Such is our 
deqr^e : they shall all go hence, whithersoever they please ; 

\ ]p:ioy, Diet, ^list^ 



P L A T I N A. S» 

I am pope, and haye a right to ratify or cancel the acti of 
others at pleasure.'' These abbreviators, thus divested of 
their employmenU, used their utmost endeavoursi for some 
days, to obtain audience of the pope, but were repulsed 
with. contempt. Upon this, Platina wrote to him id bolder 
language : *' If yon had a right to dispossess us, without a 
bearing, of the employments we lawfully purchased ; we, 
4>Q the other side, may surely be permitted to complain of 
the. injustice we sufier, and the ignominy with which we 
aire branded. As you have repulsed us so contumeliously, 
\ve will go to all the courts of princes, and intreat them to 
call a council ; whose principal business shall be, to oblige 
you to shew cause, why you have divested us of our law* 
ful possessions.'' This letter being considered as an act of 
rebellion, the writer was imprisoned^ and endured great hard** 
ships. At the end of four months he had bis liberty, with 
orders not to leave Rome, a^d continued in quiet for some 
time ; but afterwards, being suspected of a plot, was again 
imprisoned, and, with many others, put to the rack. The 
plot being found imaginary, the charge was turned to he- 
resy, which also came to nothing; and Platina was set at 
liberty some time after. The pope then flattered him with 
B. prospect of preferment, but died before he could pe/form 
h^ fNTomises, if ever he meant to do so. On the accession, 
however, of Siztus IV. to the pontificate, he recompensed 
Platina in some measure by appointing hitn in 1475, keeper 
of tbe.t Vatican library, which was established by this pope. 
It was a place of moderate inconie then, but was highly ac* 
c^ptable. to Platina, who enjoyed it with great contentment 
until 1481, when he was snatched away by the plague. He 
bequeathed to.Pomponius L^tus the houde. which he built 
on the Mons Quirinalis, with the laurel grove, out of which 
th^ poetical crowns were taken. He was the author of se- 
veral works, the most considerable of which is, '^ De Vitis 
ac Giastis Summorum Pontificum ;" or. History of the 
Popes from St. Peter to Sixtus IV. to whom he dedicated 
iU Tbi» ^ork is writteti with an elegance of style, and 
discovers powers of research and discrimination which 
were then unknown in biographical works. He seems 
always desirous of stating the truth, and does this with as 
much boldnesses could be. expected in that age. The 
best proof of this, perhaps, is that all the editions after 
l&OO were mutilated by the licensers of the press. The 
account be gives of his sufferings under Paul II. has been 



40 P L A T 1 N A. 

objected' td him as a breach of ibe impartialitj to-be ob- 
served by a historian ; but it was at th6 same time no iti* 
eoDsidetable proof of bis courage. This work was first 
printed at Venice in 1479, folio, and reprinted once or 
twice before 1500. Platina wrote also, 2. **A History of 
Mantua," in Latin, which was first published' by Lambe«- 
i^ius, with notes, at Vienna, 1675, in >4to. 3. ** De Na«^ 
turis rerum." 4. ** Epistolas ad diversos.'* 6. " De ho*- 
nesta voluptate et vaietudine.'' 6. <^ De falso et ver^ 
bono.'* 7. *< Contra amOres/* 8. ** De vera nobilitatc.** 
5. " De Optimo cire." 10. " Panegyricus in Bessariooem/* 
11." Oratio ad Paulum II." 13- *^ De pace Italisfc com^ 
ponenda et bello Turcico indicendo." 13. " De flo&culia 
linguae Latias.'^ Sannazarius wrote an humorous epigrao^ 
on the treatise ^' de bonesta voluptate," including direc->> 
tiotts for the kitchen, de Obsonns, which Mr. Oresswell bais 
thus translated : 

'' Each pontiff*s talents, morals^ life, and end. 
To scan severa^ your earlier lahours tend--^ 
■When laie*-K)n culinary themes you shine. 
Even pampered pontifis praise the kind design." 

In this hit at the popes, Sannazarius forgot that the cas6 
was quite the reverse with these two works, the treatise 
^^ De honesta volaptate" being in fact composed before its 
iuthor's imprisonment and persecution under Paul IL and 
the Lives of the Popes not until he became keeper of the 
Vatican under Sixtus IV. The date of the first edition of 
the former^ 14dl, had probably misled Saifnai^arius. The 
lives of the popes was continued in subsequent editions by 
Oauphrius Panvinins and others. We have likewise ah 
English translation and continuation by sir Paul RicHu^ 
which will be noticed more particularly hereafter. ^ 

PLATNER (John Zachariah), an able physician^ was 
born at Chemnitz, in Misnia^ in August 1694. He waft 
first intended for • merchandize, but the rapid progresi 
which he made in bis studies, induced his father to consent 
that he should direct his attention to medicine, for which 
he bad manifested a strong inclination. He studied, there* 
fore, at Leipsic, for three years, and afterwards at Halle^. 
where he receiTed the degree of doctor in September 1716; 
He then travelled through various parts of Europe, for four 

1 Tiraboscbi-ivBalbrt'8,Aca4^niiedei Scienoes i-*-NicerOD, toIs. VUI. sad^ 
•^Gressweirs PoliiiaD,— Saxii Ooomasi, 



P L A T Ji E R. 41 

years^ and finally settled at Leipstc in 1*720. In 1721 he 
was appointed professor extraordinary of anatomy and sur* 
gery. In 1724 he obtained the chair of physiology, which 
had become vacant by the death of Rivinus; in 1737 he 
Was promoted to the professorship of pathology ; and iii 
1747 to that of therapeutics. He was also nominated per- 
petual deaii of the faculty, and consulting physician to the 
court of SAxony. He did not live long, however, to enjoy 
these flattering distinctions ; for he was carried off suddenly 
on the 19th of December 1747, in the fifty-fourth year of 
his age, by a paroxysm of asthma. 

He left only three different works, the first of which, 
entitled " Institutiones Chirurgise Rationalis, turn medicas, 
tnoi manualis,'' Leipsic, 1745, was published by himself. 
It passed through several editions. The second, entitled 
" Opusculorum Chirurgicorum et Anatomicorum Tomi 
duo :' Dissertationes et Prolusiones,*' ibid. 1749, was edited 
by his son, Frederic Platner, a professor of law. And the 
third, entitled "Ars medendi singulis morbis accommoda- 
la," ibid. 1765, which had been bequeathed by the author to 
bis pupil J. B. Boehmer, upon condition that it should not 
be published, was printed by a bookseller, Fritsch, into 
whose hands^a copy of it fell eighteen years after the au- 
thor's death.* 

PEATO, the most illustrious of the Greek philosophers, 
and whose sect outlived every other, was by descent an 
Athenian, but born in the island of iEgina, then subject to 
Athens. His origin is traced back, on his father Aristo^s 
side, to Codrus ; and on that of his mother Pericthione, 
through five' generations, to Solon. The time of his birth 
is commonly placed in the first year of the eighty-eighth 
olympiad, oi" B. C. 428 ; but Brucker thinks, it may per- 
haps be more accurately fixed in the third year of the 
eighty-seventh olympiad, or B. C. 430. He gave early 
indications of an extensive and original genius, and was, 
instructed in the rudiments of letters by the grammarian 
Dionysius, and trained in athletic exercises by Aristo of 
Argos. He applied also with great diligence to the art6 of 
painting and poetry, and produced an epic poem, which 
he had the wisdom afterwards, upon comparing it with 
Homielr, to commit to the flames. At the age of twenty 
years, he cotaposed a dramatic piece, which was about to 
be performed on the theatre, but the day before the in- 

1 £lo7, Diet. Hist, de Medicine*— «Ree8*s Cyclop9dia« 



*3 • P t A T O. 

,tended exhibi^on, he happened to hear, a discoarse of So* 
crates, which induced him to withdraw the piece, and re<^ 
linquish the muses for the study pf philosophy. Accord* 
ingly he became a regular pupil of Socrates for eight years, 
and although he sometimes mixed foreign tenets with tbos^ 
of his master, always preserved a strong attachment to bimy 
and attended him at his trial. During the imprisonment 
also of that celebrated philosopher, Plato bad an opportu- 
nity of hearing his sentiments on the immortality of the 
soul, the substance of which be inserted in his beautiful 
dialogue entitled ^< PhsDdo,'' along with some of his own 
peculiar opinipns. On the death of Socrates, he retired, 
With other friends of Socrates, to Megara, where they were 
hospitably entertained by Euclid, who taught Plato the 
art of reasoning, and probably increased his fondness for 
disputation. ' 

Desirous of making himself master of all the wisdom apd 
learning which the age could furnish, Plato commenced 
his travels with visiting that part of Italy, called Magna 
Gracia^ where he was instructed in all the mysteries of the 
Pythagorean system, the subtleties of which be afterwai:ds 
too freely blended with the more simple doctrine of So- 
crates. He next visited Theodorus of Cyrene, and when 
under this master he found himself sufficiently instructed 
in the elements of mathematics, he determined to study 
astronomy, and other sciences, in Egypt, and that he might 
travel with safety, he assumed the character of a mev* 
chant. Wherever he came, he obtained information from 
the Egyptian priests concerning their astronomical obser- 
vations and calculations ; and it has been asserted, that 
Plato acquired in Egypt his opinions concerning the origin 
of the world, and learned the doctrines of transmigration, 
and the immortality of the soni : but it is more probable 
that he learned the latter doctrine from Socrates, and the 
former from Pythagoras. Nor,, according to Brucker, is 
there more reason for thinking that he learned in Egypt, 
the doctrine of the Hebrews, and enriched his system from 
the sacred Scriptures, although the contrary has b^eo 
maintained by several eminent Jewish and Christian wri- 
ters, and wa^ commonly received by the Christian fathers. 
As to the supposed agreement between the Mosaic and 
Platonic doctrines, that historian thinks that either the 
agreement is imaginary, or it consists in such particulars 
as might be easily discovered by the light of reason* 



P L AT O. « 

; After. learning what distant countries could teacfa, Plato 
returned to Italy, .to the Pythagorean school at Tarentum, 
where he endeavoured to improve his own system, by a 
nuzture of the Pythagorean, as then taught by Archytas, 
Timttus, and others. And afterwards,, when he visited 
l^cily, be retained such an attachment to the Italic school, 
ttbat,. through the bounty of Dionysius, he purchased, at 
a vast, price, several books, which contained the doctrine 
of Pythagoras, from Philoiaus, one of his followers. In 
this way Plato accumulated his knowledge. His dialectics 
he borrowed from Euclid of Megara ; the principles of na* 
tural philosophy he learned in the Eleatic school from Her- 
mogenes and Cratylus : and combining these with the 
Pythagorean doctrine of natural causes, he framed from 
both his system of metaphysics. Mathematics and astro- 
nomy be was taught in the Cyrenaic school, and by the 
Egyptian priests. From Socrates he imbibed the pure 
principles of moral and political wisdom ; but he after* 
wards obscured their simplicity by Pythagorean specula* 
tions. 

Returning home richly stored with knowledge of various 
kinds, he settled in Athens, and formed his celebrated 
school of philosophy. The place which he made choice 
of for. this purpose was a public grove, called the Academy, 
from Hecademus, who left it to the citizens for the pur- 
pose of gymnastic exercises. Adorned with statues, tem- 
ples, and sepulchres, planted with lofty plane-trees, and 
intersected by a gentle stream, it afforded a delightful re- 
treat for philosophy and the muses. Within this inclosure 
be possessed, as a part of his humble patrimony, purchased 
at the price of three thousand drachmas, a small garden, in 
which he opened a school, and to shew the value he placed 
on mathematical studies, and how neeessary a preparatioa 
be thought them for higher speculations, he placed an in- 
scription over the door, the meaning of which is, '^ Let no 
one^ who is unacquainted with geometry, enter here.^* 
He soon became ranked among the most eminent philoso- 
phers, and his travels into distant countries, where learn- 
ing and wisdom flourished, gave him celebrity among his 
brethren^ none of whom had ventured to institute a school 
in Athens, .except Arisdppus, the freedom of whose man- 
ners had brought him into discredit. Plato alone inherited 
the popularity of Socrates, and besides a crowd of young 
scholars^ persons of the first distinction frequented the 



44 P LA TO. 

academy, , females not excepted, whose curiosity indtieed 
them to put on the male apparel for this purpose. Sueh' 
reputation could not escape envy and jealousy. Diogenes 
the Cynic ridiculed Plato's doctrine of ideas and other ab- 
stract speculations ; nor was he himself without a tinge of 
jealousy, for he and Xenophon, who had been fellow pupils 
of Socrates, studiously avoided mentioning each other. 
Amidst all this, however, Plato's fame increased ; and 
such an opinion wsis formed of his political wisdom, that 
several states solicited his assistance in tiew modelling their 
riespective forms of government. But while he gave his 
advice in the affairs of Elis, and other Grecian states, and 
furnished a code of laws for Syracuse, he rejected the ap- 
pliqations of the Arcadians and Thebans, because they 
refused to adopt the plan of his republic, which prescribed 
an equal distribution of property. He was also in high es-' 
teem with several princes, particularly Arcfaelaiis, king of 
Macedon, and Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily. At three dif- 
ferent periods he visited the court of this hitter prince, and 
made several bold, but unsuccessful attempts to subdue 
bis haughty and tyrannical spirit. A brief relation of the 
particulars of these visits to Sicily, may serve to cast some 
light upon the character of our' philosopher. 

The professed object of Plato's first visit to Sicily,, which 
happened in the fortieth year of his age, during the reiga 
of the elder Dionysius, the son of Hermocrates, was, to 
take a survey of the island, and particularly to observe the 
wonders of Mount Etna. Whilst he was resident at Syra- 
cuse, he was employed in the instruction of Dion, the 
king's brother-in-law, who possessed e'xcellent abilities, 
but had not escaped the general depravity of the court. 
Such, however, was the influence of Plato's instructions, 
that he became an ardent lover of wisdom, and hoping 
that philosophy might produce the same effect upon Dio* 
oysius, he procured an interview between Plato and the 
tyrant. This had like to have proved fotal, for Donysins, 
perceiving that the philosopher levelled his discourse 
against the vices and cruelties of his reign, dismissed him 
with high displeasure from his presence, and conceived a 
design against his life. And although he did not accom-i 
plish this barbarous intention, he procured him to be sold 
as a. slave in the island of £gina, the inhabitants of vthicli 
were then at war with the Athenians. Plato, however, 
could not long remain unnoticed : Anicerris, a Cyrenaio 



PLATO. 45 

phik|sppbef , who happened to be at that time in the 
i^nd, discovered him, and purchasing bU freedooiy sent 
bicn home to Athens, and afterwards refused the repayment 
of the purchase*money, that, as he $aid| Plato's friendly 
might not mpuopolize the honour of serving so illustrious 
a philosopher. 

After a short interval, Dionysius, repenting of his unjuA 
resentment, wrote to Plato, inviting him to return to Syra-» 
cuse, to which Plato answered, with some contempt, that 
philosophy would not allow him leisure to think of Diony<^ 
aus. He wasf induced, however, to return by another ex-« 
pedient. Plato had made Dion a determined votary of 
virtue, and he naturally wished to extend this advants^e 
to the younger Dionysins, who also expressed a most ear<4 ' 
nest desire to becod9e acquainted with Plato. Letters weroi 
then dispatched to him, from the tyrant, from Dion and 
spveral followers of Pythagoras, importuning him to return 
tp Syracuse, and take upon him the education of the young- 
prince. After considerable hesitation, he consented, and 
is said to bavQ bad some kind of promise on the part of 
Dionysius that he would adopt the Platonic form of go* 
vernment. In the mean time the enemies of Dion pre* 
vailed upon Dionysius to recall from exile Pbiiistus, a 
man of tyrannical principles and spirit, who, they hoped, 
^ould oppose the doctrines and measures of Plato. The 
philosopher in the mean time was conducted to Syracuse 
with public honours; the king himself r^eived him into 
bis chariot, and sacrifices were offered in congratulation of 
his arrival. New regulations were immediately introduced ; 
the licentiousness of the court was restrained ; moderation 
reigned in all public festivals ; the king assumed an air of . 
benignity ;^ philosophy was studied by bis courtiers ; and 
every good man assured himself of a happy revolution in 
the state of public manners. It was now that Pbilistus 
a^nd his adherents found means to rekindle the jealousy of 
the tyrant, and through their intrigues, Dion became so 
obnoxious to Dionysius, that he ordered him to be impri- 
soned, and afterwards banished him into Italy. With Plato, 
however, he continued to keep up some appearance of 
friendship, and under that pretence allotted Plato an 
apariaaent ^n his palace, but at the ;iame time placed a 
lecret gnard nbout him, that no one might visit him with- 
out his knowledge. At length, upon the commencement 
<^ a. WSM^« Dionysius sent Plato back into his own country^ 



. 



46 PL AT O. 

with a promise, that he would recal both him and Dion' 
upon the return of peace. Part of this promise he was 
soon inclined to keep, by recalling Plato ; but the philoso- 
pher received his solicitations with coolness, pleaded in 
excuse his advanced age, and reminded the tyrant of the' 
violation of his promise respecting Dion ; nor was it until' 
the request of Dionysius was seconded by the in treaties of* 
the wife and sister of Dion, and by the importunities of 
Archytas of Tarentnm, and other Pythagorean philoso*' 
phers, to whom the tyrant bad pledged himself for the 
performance of his promises, that he could be prevailed 
upon to return. 

On his third arrival he was received with great respect ' 
by Dionysius, who now seemed wholly divested of his for-' 
mer resentments, listened to his doctrines with pleasui^e, 
aiid presented him with eighty talents in gold. The court 
indeed was not much improved, nor was the disposition of 
the tyrant really changed, yet Plato supported the credit 
of philosophy with great dignity, and had considerable 
influence and authority. But as be soon found that he 
could not procure the recall of Dion, and that there wa^ 
little sincerity in the professions of Dionysius, he requested' 
permission to return to Greece^ The permission was' 
granted, and a ship provided ; but before it coOld set sail, 
Dionysius retracted his promise, and detained Plato in 
Syracuse. This conduct being attended with complaints 
on the part of Plato, the tyrant vVas so irritated as to dis- 
oniss him from his court, and put him under a guard of 
soldiers, whom false rumours had incensed against him. 
His Pythagorean friends at Tarentum, being informed of 
his dangerous situation, immediately dispatched an em- 
bassy to Dionysius:, demanding an instant completion of 
his promise to Archytas. The tyrant, not daring to refuse 
this demand, with a view to pacify Plato gave him a mag- 
nificent entertainment, and sent him away loaded with rich 
presents. 

Plato, now restored to his country and his school, de- 
voted himself- to science, and spent the latst years of a 
long life in the instruction of youth. Having enjoyed the . 
advantage of an athletic constitution, and lived all bis days 
temperately, he arrived at the eighty-first, or, accoiding 
to some writers, the seventy-ninth, year of his age, and 
died, through the mere decay of nature, in the first y^Or 
of the hundred and eighth olympiad. He p^sed hb whdle 



PLATO. 47 

t 

life in a state of celibacy, and therefore left no natural 
heirs, but transferred hU effects by will to bin friend Adi- 
amantus. The grove and gardenj which had been the 
scene of his philosophical labours, at last afforded him a 
sepulchre. Statues and altars were erected to his memory ; 
the day of his birth long continued to be celebrated as a 
festival by his followers ; and his portrait is to this day* 
preserved in gems. 

The personal character of Plato has been very differently 
represented. On the one hand, his encomiasts have not 
foiled to adorn him with every excellence, and to express 
the most superstitious veneration for his memory. His ene- 
mies, on the other, have not scrupled to load him with re- 
proach, and to charge him with practices inconsistent with 
the purity of the philosophical character. Several anec- 
dotes, however, are preserved, which reflect honour upon 
his morals and principles. He had in particular an extra- 
ordinary command of temper. When he was told that his 
enemies were busily employed in circulating reports to his 
disadvantage, he said, *^ I will live so, that none shall 
believe them.'' One of his friends remarking, that he' 
seemed as desirous to learn himself^ as to teach others, 
asked him, how long he intended to be a scholar ? ^< As 
long," says he, *^ as I am not ashamed to grow wiser and 
better." 

It is from the writings of Plato, chiefly, that we are to 
form a judgment of his merit as a philosopher, and of the 
service which he rendered to science. No one can beeon- 
versant with these without perceiving, that his diction 
always retained, a strong, tincture of that poetical spirit 
which he discovered in his first productions. This is the 
principal ground of those lofty encomiums,- which both 
antient and modern critics have passed upon his language, 
&nd, particularly, of' the -high estimation in which it was 
held by Cicero, who, treating on the subject of language, 
says, that ** if Jupiter were to speak in the Greek tongue^ 
he would borrow the style of Plato." The accurate Stagy- 
rite describes it, as ** a middle species of diction, between 
verse and prose.'* Some of his dialogues are elevated by 
luch sublime and glowing conceptions, are enriched with 
<ucfa c6pioos and splendid diction, and flow in so harmo- 
ftioos a rytbmus, that they may truly be pronounced highly 
poetical. Most of them are justly admired for their lite^ 
laryttierit; the intrpductioos are pertinent and amusing; 



L 



48 PLATO. 

the course of the debate, or conversation], is clearly marii^ejii ; 
the characters are accurately supported ; every speaker 
has his proper place, language, and manners; the scenery 
of the conference is painted in lively colouring ; and the 
whole is, with admirable art, adorned and enlivened by 
those minute embellishments, which render the colloquial 
mode of writing so peculiarly pleasing. Even upon ab- 
stract subjects, whether moral, metaphysical, or ^matha^ 
matical, the lauguage of Pla|o is often clear as the running 
stream, and in simplicity and sweetness vies^ with the hum* 
l)le violet which perfumes the vale. In the^e beautiful 
partii of his works, it has been conjectured, not without 
probability, that Socrates and Lysias were his models. At 
other times, however, we 6nd him swelling into the turgid 
style, a tipcture of which he seems to have retained from 
l^is juvenile studies, and involving himself in obscurities,, 
which were the offspring of a lofty fancy, or were borrowed 
from the Italic school. Several ancient critics have noticed 
tbese blemishes in the writings of Plato. Dionysius Haliv 
carnassensis particularly censures Plato for the barsbnesa 
of his metaphors, and bis bold innovations in the use of 
t^rms, and quotes from bis Phasdrus eicamples of the bom- 
bast^ the pnerile, $ind the frigid style. The same inequality, 
which is so apparent in the style pf Plato, may also be ob- 
served in his conceptions. Whilst he adheres to the school 
Qf Socrates, and discourses upon moral topics, be is much 
more pleasing than when be los^s himself, with Pythagoras, 
in abstruse speculations. 

The Dialogues of Plato, which treat of various subjects, 
and were written with different views, are classed by the 
ancients uyiider the two beads of didactic and i^auisiTive. 
The Didai;tic, are subdivided into Speculative, including^ 
physical and logical ; apd Practical, comprehending ethical 
a|id political. The second class, the inquisitive, is cha- 
racterii^ed by terms taken from the athletic art, and divided 
intojbtie Gymnastic, and the Agonistic ; the dialogues termed 
Gymnastic were imagined to be similar to the exercise, 
and were subdivided into the Mai/^utio, as resembling tbo 
teaching of the rudiments of the art; and the Peirastic, as 
represented by a skirmish, or trial of proficiency. The 
Agonistic dialogues, supposed to resemble the combat, were 
either Endeictic, exhibiting a specimen of skill ; or Ana* 
treptic, presenting the spectacle of a perfect defeait. lo*-^ 
sf;ead of this ifhimsical classificatiou, an aarraDgemcDi ^ tbe^ 



/■ 



PLATO. 49 

« 

dialogues, taken from the subjects on which tb^y treat, 
would be much more obvious and useful. They may not 
improperly be divided into physical, logical, ethical, and 
political. 

The writings of Plato were originally collected by Her- 
luodorus, one of bis pupils : they consist of thirty-five 
dialogues, and thirteen epistles. They were first published 
by Aldus Manutius, at Venice, in 1513, 2 vols, folio. The 
subsequent editions of Ficiuus and Serranus are the most 
valuable ; but the notes and interpretation^ of both are to 
be read with caution^ as not representing Plato's sentiments 
with fidelity. The Deux Ponts edition of 1781, 12 vols. 
8vo, is a copy of the Greek of Serranus, and the Latin of 
Ficinus. Of the ^^ Dialogues of Plato,'* an edition was 
published fay Foster at Oxford, 1745, 8vo, reprinted in 
1752 and 1765. In 1771, Etwail published, at the same 
place, the '* Alcibiades,'* and ^^ Hipparchus ;*' to which 
he prefixed. the life of Plato by Olympiodorus, and the in* 
tcoductiofl jof Albinus. The ^^ Euthydemus"' and *^ Gor« 
gias" were also published at Oxford in 1784, by the very 
learned Dr. Routh, president of Magdelen college. There 
are many English translationa.of the Dialogues, but none 
(uperior to those by Floyer Sydenham^ published in four 
volumes, from 1767 to 1780.' Mr. Thomas Taylor has 
since published a translation of the whole works of Plata, 
including Sydenham's share, with copious notes, &c. 1804, 
5 vols. 4to. 

On the philosophy of Plato it is not our intention to 
enter. The most moderate* account we have seen would 
exceed our limits ; and as treated by modern writers it forms 
the history, not only of a sect, but of the various con** 
troveraies which have arisen out of it in the Christian world. 
Our readers may be referred, with confidence, to Brucker, 
whom we have principally followed in the preceding part, 
and to an elaborate article in the '^ Encyclopedia Britan-; 
nica." In the seventeenth century. Gale, Ctidworth, and 
More, perplexed themselves with the doctrinfta of Plato^ 
which, however, are now less studied and less respected; 
In such a wonderful maze of words, says Brucker, does 
Plato involve his notiqns, that none of his disciples, notr 
even the sagacious Stagyrite, could unfold them ^ and yet 
we. receive them as sacred mysteries, and, if we do not 
perfectly comprehend them, imagine that our iiUellects 
are too feeble to penetrate the conceptions of this divine 

Vot. XXV. E 



50 PLATO* 

» 
philosopher, and that our eyes are blinded by that resplen^ ^ 
dent blaze of truth, upon which his eagle sight could gaze 
without injury. 

The truth appears to have been^ that Plato, ambitious 
of the honour of forming a new sect, and endued by nature 
with more brilliancy of fancy than strength of judgment, 
collected the tenets of other philosophers, which were, in 
many particulars, contradictory, and could by no exertion 
of ingenuity be brought to coalesce ; and that, out of this 
heterogeneous mass, he framed a confused system, desti- 
tute of form or consistency. This will be acknowledged 
•by every one, who, in perusing the philosophical writings 
of Plato, is capable of divesting himself of that blind re* 
spect for antiquity, by which the learned so frequently 
suffer themselves to be misled. The followers, too, of 
Plato, far from dispersing the clouds which from the first, 
hung over his system, appear to have entered into a ge- 
neral combination to increase its obscurity. The succes- 
sive changes, which took place in the academy after the- , 
death of its founder, by introducing a succession of new 
opinions, continually increased the difficulty of arriving at 
the true sense of Plato. And when, in a subsequent pe- 
riod, the Platonic philosophy was professed in Alexandria, 
it was still further adulterated by an injudicious and absurd 
attempt to mould into one system the doctrines of Plato,* 
the traditionary tenets of Egypt and the eastern nations, 
and the sacred creeds of the Jews and Christians : a coali^ 
tion which proved exceedingly injurious both to philosophy 
and religion. ^ 

PLAUTUS (Makcus Accius), a comic writer of an- 
cient Rome, was bom at Sarsina, a small town in Umbria, 
a province of Italy ; his proper name was Marcus Accius : 
he is supposed to nave acquired the surname of Phmtus, 
from having broad and ill-formed feet His parentage 
seems to have been mean ; and some have thought him the 
son of a slave. Few circumstances of his life are known ; 
Cicero has told us in general that he was some years 
younger than Nsevius or Ennius, and that he died the first 
year of the elder Cato*s censorship, when Claudius Pul- 
cher and Lucius Portius Licinius were consuls. This was 
about the year of Rome 569, when Terence was about 
nine years old, and 184 years B, C. A. Gellius says, thai 

> Bracker.— Encydopvdia Britannica (Dr. Gkif'i •ditioo)^ vol. XV. 



1^ L A U T U S. SL 

9 

f^Uutu^.waa distinguished at the same time for his poetry 
upon the theatre, thai Oato was for his eloquence in the 
fbrum ; and obsertes elsewhere, from Varro, that he was 
so well paid for his plays, as to think of doubling his stock 
by trading; in which, however, he was so unfortunate, 
that he lost all he had got by the Muses, and for his sub- 
sistence, was reduced, iu the time of a general famine, 
to work at the mill. How long he continued in this dis-. 
tress, is uncertain ; but Varro adds, that the poet^s wit was 
bis best support, and that he composed three plays during 
this daily drudgery. 

It is doubtful how many plays he composed. We have 
ooly twenty extant, and not all entire. Varro allowed 
t9^enty-six to be of his composition, which were all extant 
in Gellius's time. Some made the number of his plays to 
exceed an hundred \ but this might arise from his revising 
the plays of other poets, which Gellius supposes he did ; 
siud Varro^s account ought to be decisive. This learned 
Soman bad written a particular treatise on Plautus's works, 
from the second book .of which, quoted by Gellius, the 
preceding particulars are taken. Many other critics are 
there mentioned by Gellius, who hsid all written some 
pieces upon Plautus, which shew the great admiration in 
which he wIeis held by the Romans ; and it should seem as 
if thia admiration continued long ; for there is a passage ia 
ArnQl>ius, whence it seems reasonable to infer that some 
of his plays were acted on solemn occasions, so late as the 
reign of I)ioclesian. Two circumstances contributed to 
bis fame; the one, his style, which was thought the 
standard of the purest Latin, for the learned Varro did 
ttot scruple to say, that were the Muses to speak Latin^; 
they would certainly speak in the language of Plautus; 
the other, the exquisite humour of his characters, which, 
let him above alll the Roman comic writers. This is the 
constant opinion of Varro, Cicero, Gellius, Macrobius, 
and the nnost eminent modern critics, as Lipsius. the Sca- 
ligers, Muretus, Turnebns, &c. Horace only blames the 
coarseness of his wit, in which opinion a modern reader of 
taste will perhaps be inclined to join. Bonnell Thornton 
endeavoured to naturalize them by a translation, which 
however is ^)o liberal to afford the mere English reader an 
id^ of the humour which delighted a Roman audience. 

The first edition of Plautus was edited by George Me- 
fulayi^lid pttblisbed at Venice in 1472, fol. Ttie most 

B 2 



« P L A U T U S. 

valuable of the subsequent editions are, that of Camtera-^ 
riusy Basil, 1551, and 155S, 8vo ; of Lambinus, Paris, 
1577, fol. ; of Taubman, Francfort and Wittemberg, 
1605^ 1612, and 1622, 4to; the Variorum by Gronovius, 
Amst. 1684, Svo; of Ernesti, Leipsic, 1760, 2^018. 8vo; 
and of Schmeider, at Gottingen, 1804, 2 vols. Svo.* 

PLAYFORD (John), a man distinguished in the mu- 
iical world, was born in 1613. He was a stationer and a 
seller of musical instruments, iniisic-books, and music-^ 
pAper, and was clerk of the Temple church. What hit 
education had been, is not known ; but that he had at- 
tained to a considerable proficiency in the practice of 
music and musical composition, is certain. His skill in 
music was not so great as to entitle him to the appellation 
of a master ; he knew nothing of the theory of the science, 
but was very well versed in the practice, and understood 
the rules of composition well enough to write good har- 
mony. He was also the first and the most intelligent 
printer of music during the seventeenth century ; and be 
and his ^n Henry, appear, without a special licence, or 
authorized monopoly, to have had almost the whole busi- 
ness of furnishing the nation with musical instruments, 
music books, and music paper, to themselves. In 165S 
he published the first edition of his ^' Introduction to the 
Skill of Music," a compendium compiled from Morley, 
Butler, and other more bulky and abstruse books, which 
had so rapid a sale, that in 1683 ten editions of it had 
been circulated through the kingdom. The book, indeed, 
contained no late discoveries or new doctrines, either in 
the theory or practice of the art ; yet the form, price, and 
style, were so suited to every kind of musical readers, that 
it seems to have been more generally purchased and read, 
than any elementary musical tract that ever appeared in 
this or in any other country. 

In the same year this diligent editor also published, in 
two separate books, small Svo, " Court Ayres, by Dr. 
Charles Colman, William Lawes, John Jenkins, Simpson, 
Child, Cook, Rogers,^' &c. These being published at a 
time when there was properly no court, were probably 
tunes which had been used in the masques performed at 
Whitehall during the life of Charles I. In 1671 he pub- 
lished the first edition of his *' Psalms and Hymns in solemn 

1 Fabric. Bibl. Lat.-«Vo89. de Poet. Lat— >Cru8i08's LiT«t of 4h« lUmi*' 
PatU.— -jCHbdia't Claasica, and Bibl. Spenceriana. — Sazii OnomasL 



P L A t F O R a 51 

Mu8icky.< in faure Pasts, on <tbe common Tunes 'to Psalms 
in Metre u^ed in Parish churches. Also six Hymns for 
one Voice to the Organ,'' folio. The several editions of 
this virork^ published in various forms, at a small price, ren-* 
dered its sale very general, and psalm-singing in parts, a 
favourite amusement in almost every village in the king-" 
dom. He die^ about 1693, and Tate, then poet-laureat,^ 
wrote an elegy upon him. 

His second ^OU], Henry, succeeded his father asa music-^ 
seller, at fir^t at his shop in the Temple, but afterwards in 
the Temple Exchange, Fleet^street ; but the music-books 
advertised by him were few compared with those published 
by his father, ^mqng them were the "Orpheus Britan- 
nicus,'' and the tei| sopatas and airs of Purcell. He pub- 
lished, in 1701, what he called the second book of the 
" Pleasant Musical Coipp^nion, .being a choice collection 
of catches for threp or four voices ;*' published chiefly for 
the.. encouragement of the musical societies, which, he 
said, would be speedily set up in the chief cities and towns * 
of Englfind. We know not that this was the ease, but 
certainly the pqblication of Purcell's catches in two sn^all 
volumes of the elder Walsh in queen Anne's time, was the 
ffieaqs of es|:ablishing catch-clubs in alniost every town in 
the kingdom. It is cpnjectured that Henry Playford sur- 
viv^4 ^i^ father but a short time, for we meet with no pub- 
lication by him after 1710.* 

PLPMPiyS (VoPiscus FoRTUNATUsj, an eminent phy- 
sici^^n^ was born at Amsterdam in December 1601. He 
studied at Ghent^>Louvain, Leyden, Padua, and Bologna, 
at which last university be took his degree of doctor. 
On his return tq Holland, he began practice, but was in- 
4pced to acc/ept the vacant professorship of the Institutes 
of Medicine, at Louvain^ of \yhicb he took possession in 
1633. At the same time he abjured the Protestant faith, 
became a Catholic, and took a new degree of doctor, in 
conformity with the rules of the university. In |the fol- 
lowing year, however, he quitted this chair, for the pro^ 
fessorship of pathology. He was soon afterwards nominated 
principal of the college of Breugel. He died at Louvain, 
in December 1.671^ aged seventy. 

Pl/empius left the following works : ^* A Treatise on the 
Muscles/' in Dutch. '< Ophthalmographia, sive de Oculi 

* Hawkini aod Burnay'i Hiit. of Miisic 



Si PLEMPIUS, 

Fabric^, ^ctione, et tJsu," Anast. 1632; Lovsn. i648* 
A translation pf the Anatomy of Cabrolius into ButcbV' 
with notes, Amst. 1633. '* Fundamenta, sen Institutiones 
Medicins/' Lov. 1638, 1644, &c. In the first edition of 
this vforky Plempi us doubted the circulation of the blood ; 
but ia the second^ he was 9 strenuous advocate for thatf 
doctrine. '* Animadversion6s in veram Praxim curandae 
Tertianss propositam i Ooctore Petro Barba;*' ibid. 1642. 
'* Antimus Coningius Peruvflfni pulveris defensor, repulsun 
i Melippp FrptyniQ;'' ibid. 1655. Coningius is the as- 
sumed name pf JHonoratus Fabri ; Protymns was that as- 
sumed by Plenipius, in order to decry the use of cinchona, 
*< Avic^nnas Ganonis Liber primus et secundus ex Arabicft 
Lingua in (.atinam translatus," ibid. 1658. ^' Tractatus 
de Aflfectuum Pilorum et Unguium,'* ibid. 1662. " De 
Togatorum Valetudiqe tuendft Commentarius,** Brux. 
1670. The two following are generally ascribed to thitf 
author, though Mangetus and Lipeuius (probably misintpr. 
preting the initial) ascribe them to Francis Plempius, yiz. 
** Munitio Fundamentprum Medicinae V. F. Plempii ad- 
versus Jacobum Primerosium,'* Amst. 1659. " Loimograi 
pbia, sive, Tractatus de Peste,** ibid. 1664.* 

PLINIUS SECUNDUS (Caius), called/the elder, to 
distinguish him from his nephew, was one of the i^ost 
learned of the ancient Roms^n writefs, and was born in the 
reign of Tiberius Caesar, about the year of Christ 2$. His 
birtn-place was Verona, as appears from his calling Catut^ 
lus bis countryman, who was unquestionably of that city. 
Tho ancient writer of his life, ascribed to Suetonius, and, 
after him, St Jerom, have made hiip ^ native of Rome; 
father Hardpuin has also taken some pains to confirm this 
notion, which however has not prevailed. We can more 
readily believe Aulus Gellius, who represents him as one pf 
the most ingenious mep of his age ; and what is related (jf 
his application by his nephew the younger P)iny, is almost 
incredible. Yet his excessive love of study did not spoil 
the man of business, nor prevent, him from filling the 
most important offices with credit He was a procurator, 
or manager of the emperor's revenue, in the provinces ojf 
Spain and Africa ; and was advanced to the high dignity 
of augur. He had also several considerable commands in 
the army, and was distinguished by his courage in the 
field, a^ well as by his eloquence at the bar. 

> £loy» Diet Hi»t— Rces's Cyclopsdnr. 



P L I N I U 1 U 

His immner of life, as it is described by bis nephew^ 
exhibits a degree of ii^dustry and perseverance scarcely to 
4>e paralleled. In suminer he always began bis studies as 
«oon as it was night: in winter, generally at one in the 
morning, but never later than two, and often at midnight 
No man ever spent less time inr bed; and sometimes he 
would, without retiring from his books, indulge in a short 
sl^p, and then pursue his studies. Before day-break, it 
<was his custom to wait upon Vespasian, who likewise chose 
that season to transact business : and when he had finished 
the affairs which the emperor committed to his charge, he 
returned home again to bis studies. After a slender repast 
at noon, he would frequently, in the summer, if he was 
disengaged from business, recline in the sun: during 
which time some author was read to him, from which he 
made extracts and observations. This was his constant 
method, whatever book he rea,d : for it was a ma^im of 
his, that '^ no book was so bad, but something might be 
learned from it.^ When this was over, he generally went 
into the cold-bath^ after which he took a slight refresh* 
meot of food and rest ; and then, as if it had been a new 
day, resumed his studies till supper- time, when a book 
was again read to him, upon which he would make some 
remarks as they!«went on« His nephew mentions a singular 
instance to shew how parsimonious he was of his time, and 
bow covetous of knowledge. His reader having pro- 
nounced a word wrong, some person at the table made 
him repeat it : upon which, Pliny asked that person if he 
understood it? and when he acknowledged that he did, 
'^ Why then,'' said he, '^ would you make him go back 
again ? we have lost, by this interruption, above ten lines.'' 
In summer, he always rose from supper by day-light ; and 
in winter, as soon as it was dark. Such was his way of life 
amidst the noise and hurry of the town ; but in the country 
his whole time was devoted to study without intermission, 
excepting only when he bathed, that is, was actually in 
the bath; for during the operation of rubbing and wiping,: 
be was employed either in. hearing some book read to him, 
or in dictating himself. In his journeys, he lost no time 
from his studies, his mind at those seasons being disen^ 
gaged from all other thoughts, and a secretary or amanti* 
^eiisis constantly attended him in his chariot; and that he 
might suffer the less interruption to his studies, instead of 
wall^ing^ be always used a carriage in Rome. By ibis 



56 P L I N I U S, 

r 

extraordinary application he found leisur^■ to write a great 
many volumes. 

The circumstances of his death, like his mantier of liv- 
ing, were very singular, and are also described at large by 
the elegant pen of his nephew. He was at that time, with 
a ;fleet under his command, at Misenuro, in the gulf cf 
Naples ; his sister and her son, the younger Pliny, beiuf^ 
with him. On the 24th of August, in the year 79, about 
one in the afternoon, his sister desired him to observe a 
cloud of a very unusual size and shape. He was in his 
study ; but immediately arose, and went out Upon an emir 
fience to view it more distinctly. It was not at that dis^ 
tance discernible from wh^t mountain this cloud isaued, 
but it was found afterwards to ascend from mount Vesuvius. 
Its figure resembled that of a pine-tree ; for it shot up to a 
great height in the form of a trunk, which extended itself at 
the top into a sort of branches ; and it appeared sometimes 
bright, and sometimes dark and spotted, as it was either 
more or less impregnated with earth and cinders. This was a 
noble phaenomenon for the: philosophic Pliny, who iinmedi- 
ately ordered a light vessel to be got ready ; but as he was 
coming out of the house, with his tablets for his observa<^ 
tions, the mariners belonging to the gallies stationed ac 
Retina, earnestly intreated him to come to their assLstance, 
since that port being situated at the foot of mount Vesu<- 
vius, there was no way for them to escape, but by sea. 
He therefore ordered the gallies to put to sea, and went 
himself on board, with intention of assisting not only Re- 
tina, but several other towns, situated upon that beautiful 
coast. He steered directly to the point of danger^ wbience 
ethers fled with the utmost terror; and with so much calm<- 
ness and presence of mind, as to be able to make and 
dictate his observations upon the motion and figure of that 
dreadful scene. He went so nigh the mountain, that the 
cinders, which grew thicker and hotter the nearer he ap- 
proached, fell into the ships, together with pumice-stones, 
and black pieces of burning rock : they were likewise in 
danger, ftot only of being aground by the sudden retreat 
of the sea, but also from the vast fragments which rolled 
down from the mountain, and obstructed all the shore. 
Here he stopped to consider, whether he should return ; 
to which the pilot advising him, " Fortune," said he, *^ be* 
friends the brave ; cari;y me to Pomponianus." Pompo-* 
nianus was then at Stabips, a town separated by. a gulfj^ 



P L I N I U S; «7 

which the sea, after several windiogs, forms upon, thai: 
shore. He foupd him in the greatest consternation, but 
exhorted him to keep up his spirits } and, the more to 
dissipate his fears^ he ordered, with an air of unconcern, 
the baths to be got ready ; when, after having bathed, h^ 
sat down to supper with apparent cheerfulnet^s. In the 
mean while, the eruption from Vesuvius A^med out in 
seFera) places with much violence, which the darkness of 
the night contributed to render still more visible aqd 
dreadful Pliny, to soothe the apprehensions of his friend, 
assured him it was only the burning of the villages, which. 
the country people had abandoned to the flames;, after 
this be retired, and had some sleep. The court whiqh 
led to bis apartment being in the meantime almost, filled 
with stones and ashes, if he had continued there any 
longer, it would have been impossible for. him to have 
made his way out: it was therefore thought proper to 
av?aken him. He got. up, and went to Pomponi(tous and 
the rest of the company, who were not.unconcerAed enough 
to think of going to bed. They consulted together, whe- 
ther it would be most prudent to trust to the houses, which 
now shook from side to side with frequent and violent 
rockings ; or to fly to the open fields, where the calcined 
stones and cinders, though light indeed, yet fell in large 
showers, and threatened destruction. In this distress they 
resolved for the fields, as the less dangerous situation of 
the two; and went out, having pillows tied upon their 
heads with napkins, which was all their defence against the 
storms of stones. that fell around them. It was now day 
every where else, but there a deeper darkness prevailed 
than in the most obscure night; which, however, was in 
some degree dissipated by torches, and other lights of va* 
rious kinds. They thought proper to go down farther upon 
the shore, to observe if they might safely put out to sea; 
but they found the waves still run extremely high and 
boisterous. There Pliny, taking a draught or two of water, 
threw himself down upon a cloth which was spread for him; 
when immediately the flames and a strong smell of sulphur, 
which was the forerunner of them, dispersed the rest of 
the company, and obliged him to arise. He raised him- 
self, with the assistance of two of his serviants, for be was 
corpulent,.' and instantly fell down dead : suffocated, as his 
nephew conjectures, by some gross and noxious vapour ; 
for heh^d always yreak lungs, and was. frequently subjeol: 



ir« 1^ L I N I u & 

to a difficulty of breathing. As soon as it was light again, 
which was not till the third day after, his body was^ found 
^entire, add -without any jBarks of violence upon it; ex* 
actly in the same posture that he fell, and looking more 
like a man asleep than dead. 

The sister and nephew, whom the uncle left at Misenura, 
continued there that night, but had their rest extremely 
broken and disturbed. There had been for many days ^ 
before some shocks of an earthquake, which was the l^ss 
surprising, as they were always extremely frequent ia 
Campania : but they were so particularly violent that night, 
that they seemed to threaten a total destruction. When 
the 'morning came, the light was exceedingly faint and 
languid, and the buildings continued to totter ; so that 
Pliny and bis mother resolved to quit the town,- and the 
people followed them in the utmost consternation. When 
at a convenient distance from the houlies, they stood stilly 
in the midst of a most dangerous- and dreadful scene. The 
chariots, they had ordered to be drawn out, were so agi-» 
tated backwards and forwards, though upon the most level 
ground, that they could not keep them stedfast, even- hf 
supporting them with large stones. The sea seemed to 
roll back upon itself, and to be driven from its banks by 
the convulsive motion of the earth ; it was certain at leasts 
the shore was considerably enlarged, and several sea ^m*' 
inals were left upon it. On the other side, a black aod 
dreadful cloud, bursting with an igneous serpentine va«^ 
pour, darted out a long train of fire, resembling flashes oC 
lightning, but much larger. Soon afterwards, the cloud 
seemed to descend, and cover the whole ocean ; as indeed^* 
it entirely hid the island of Capreae, and the promontory 
of Misenum. Pliny's mother earnestly conjured him to 
make his escape, which, being young, for he was only 
eighteen years of age, he might easily do ; as for herself, 
she said, her age and unwieldy person rendered all at* 
tempts of that sort impossible: but he refused to leave 
her, and, taking her by the band, led her on. The ashes 
began to fall upon them, though in no great quantity : but 
a thick smoke, like a torrent, came rolling after them. 
Pliny proposed, while they had any light, to turn out of 
the high road, lest his mother should be pressed to death 
in the dark, by the crowd that followed them : and they 
had scarce stepped out of the path, when utter darkness 
•ntirely overspread them. Nothing then was to be heardy 



P L I N I U S. 59 

»y$ PliiTjry but the shrieks of women^ the screams of 
children, and the cries of men : some calling for their 
children, others for their parents, others for their husbands^ 
and only distingnishing each other by their voices ; one 
lamenting his own fate, another that of his family, some 
wishing to die from the very fear of dying, some lifting up 
ttfetr hands to the gods, but the greater part imagining 
that the last and eternal night was comcj which was to de- 
stroy both the gods and the world together. At length a 
gHmmering light appeared, not the return of day, but 
bnly the forerunner of an approaching burst of flames, 
which, however, fell at a distance from them ; then s^gain 
they were' immersed in thick darkness, and a heavy shower 
of ashes rained upon them, which they were obliged every 
now and then to shake off, to prevent being buried in the 
heap. At length this dreadful darkness was dissipated by 
degrees, like a cloud or smoke: the real day returned, 
ana even the sun appeared, though very faintly, and as 
when an eclipse is coming on ; and every object seemed 
changed, being covered over with white ashes, as with a 
deep snow. Pliny owns very frankly, that his support^ 
during this terrible phasnomenon, was chiefly founded in 
that miserable, though strong consolation, that all man** 
kind were involved in the same calamity, and that the 
world ttsdf was perishing. They returned to Misenum; 
luft wltbout yet- getting rid of their fears ; for the earth* 
quake still continued, while, as was extremely natural in 
sach a situation, several enthusiastic people ran up and 
down, heightening their own and their friends calamities 
by terrible predictions. 

This event happened A.D. 79, in the first year of the 
^peror Titus; and was probably the first eruption of 
mount Vesuvius, at least of any consequence, as it is cer- 
tain we have no particular accounts of any preceding erup- 
tion. Dio, indeed, and other ancient authors, speak of 
this mountain as burning before ; but still they describe it 
is covered with trees and vines, so that the eruptions 
must have been inconsiderable. 

As to the writings of Pliny, his nephew informs us that 
the first book he published was, a treatise, ^' Concerning 
the art of using the javelin on horseback,*' written when 
he commanded ft troop of horse. He also was the author 
j^f ^^ The Life of Pompontus Secundus,'V who was his 
friend f and ^^ The history of the Wars in Germany ;'' ia 



60 PL I N I U S* 

\vbich be gave an account of all the. batUes tUe Rema^nf 
bad had with the Germans. His nephew sajs> ibat s^ 
dreaxn^ which occurred when he served in the army in 
Germany, first sqggested to him the design of this worj^ : 
it was, that Drusus Nero, who. extended his conquests 
very far into that country, and there lost his life, appeared 
to him, and conjured him i\6% to suffer bis memory to be 
buried in oblivion. He wrote likewise /^ A treati^se .uppq 
Eloquence ; and a piece of criticism '^ concerrung duhiousi 
Latinity." This last work, which w^ publisjied iu Ji^ro'« 
reign, when the tyranny of the tim^s made it dangerous to 
engage in studiesf of a freei: kind, i^ often cited.by Pris?- 
cian. He completed a history which Axifidii^s Bassus lefijt 
unfinished, by adding to it thirty bpok?, which conti^ine4 
th^ history of his own times. Lastly; be left thirty-se^ven 
books upon the. subject of naturfd history:. a wor^ sayf 
bis nephew, of great compass and learning^ and almost ^ . 
full of variety as nature herself. It is indeed a.n^ost.valiiy 
able treasury of ancient knowledge. For its defects, wbiph 
ih t)ije estimation of modem studept^ of n^tur^l history 
must unavoidably be numerous, be thus apologiv;^Sy,in tb^ 
dedication to Vespasian: ^^ The patb which I hav.a taken 
has hitherto been, in a great measur^^* UQtroddep ; and 
holds fourth tp the traveller few enticenye^t^s. . Npne .of our 
own writer^ have, so much as attempted tb^ese subjects; 
and even among the Greeks no one ba^ treated of, tbein ip 
their full extent. Tbe generality pf autboris ip their pur,- 
suits attend chiefly to amuseoient; and those who.h^ve the 
character of writing with great, depth and re^nement ar^ 
involved in impenetrable obscurity. Such is, the extent of 
my undertaking, that it comprehends every topic which 
tbe Greeks include under tbe name oiEncyclopadia.; qf 
which, however, some are as yet utterly u;ikuown, and 
others have been rendered uncertaia by excessive subtletjf. 
Oiher parts of my subject have been so often handled, that 
readers are become cloyed with tbemf^ Arduous indeed U 
the task to give what is old an appearance of novelty ; to 
add weight and authority to what is new \ \o cast a. iuist.ra 
upon subjects which time. has obscured; to rjender accept- 
able what is become trite and disgusting ; to obtain credit 
to doubtful relations ; and, in a word, to rep^^»ent eviery 
-thing according to nature, and witli all its toatural proper- 
ties. A design like this, even though incompletely exfs- 
cuted, will b#. allowed to bis grand apd noble." He a4da 



P L I N I U S. 61 

aftemardsy ** Many defects and errors bave, I doubt not, 
escaped me ; /for, besides that I partake of the common 
infirmities of human nature, I have written this work in the 
midst of engagements, at broken periods which I have 
stolen from sleep/* 

It would be unjust to the memory of this great man, not 
to admit this apology in its full extent; and it would be 
rtill more unjust, to judge of the merit of his work, by com- 
paring it with modern productions in natural history, writ- 
ten after the additional observations of seventeen hundred 
years. Some allowance ought also to be made for the 
carelessness atid ignorance of transcribers, who have so 
mutilated and corrupted this work, that, in many places, 
the author*s meaning lies almost beyond the reach of con- 
jecture; 

With respect to philosophical opinioiis, Pliny did not 
rigidly adherfe to any sect, but occasionally borrowed such 
ttsnets from each, as' suited his present inclination or pur- 
pose. He reprobates the Epicurean tenet of an infinity o^ 
worlds ; favours the Pythagorean notion of the harn\ony of 
the spheres; speaks of the universe as God, after the man- 
ner of the stoics ;' and sometimes seems to pass over into 
the field of tli^ sceptics." For the most part, however, he 
leans tbwardstb^ docWne of Epicurus. 

1*0 the works of this author may be added a vast quan- 
tity of manuscripts, which he left to hiiS nephew, and for 
which he had been offered by Largius Licinius 400,000 
lesterces, that Is, about 3200/. of our money. "You will 
wonder,*' siays his hejphew, ** hdw a man, so engaged as 
hie was, could find time to compose such a number of 
books; and som^ of them too' upon abstruse subjects. 
Your surprise will rise still 'higher, when yoii hear, that 
for some time he engaged in the' profession of an advocate^ 
that he died in his 56th yeaf, that from the time of his 
q\!iitting the bar to his death he was employed in the 
highest post^, and in the service of his prince : but he had 
a quick apprehension, joined to an unwearied application.'* 
Ep. lii. 5. Hence he became not only a master in polite 
literature, in grammar, eloquence, and history, but pos- 
sessed a knowledge of the' various arts and sciences, geo- 
graphy, mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, bo- 
tany, sculpture, painting, architecture, &c. for of all these 
things has he treated in the very important work that be 
lias left us. 



^8 P L 1 N i U S» 

The-first edition of Pliny's << Naturalis HUtom*' am^ 
from the press of Spira at Venice in 1469, and is reckoned 
one of tbq most beautiful, rare, and valuable publications 
of the fifteenth century. Mr. Dibdin describes the copy 
in lord Spencer's library as the finest extant. Five otbef. 
editions were published from 1470 to 1476, such was the 
demand for this store-house of natural history. Of theu 
modern editions^ the preference is usually given to that 
by the celebrated father Hardouin, of which there are two^ 
the first ^^iu usum Delphini," Paris, 5 vols. 4to; the se-' 
cond^ 1723, 3 vols, folio, which is a more copious, splen* 
did, and critical performance. Since that, we have an 
excellent edition by Franzius, Leipsic, 1778 — 91, 10 voLs^ 
Avo. Another by Brotier, Paris, 1779, 6 vols. 3ycr« 
And a third, Bipont, 1783, 6 vols, 8vo. There are trans**^ 
latioBs of it, or of parts, in all languages. That endles* 
translator Philemon Holland exerted his own andhis read<^ 
ers* patience on a version into English, published in 1601^ 
folio. ^ 

PLINIUS CiECILlUS SECUNDUS (Caius), nephew 
of the' preceding, was born A.^D. 62, at Novocomum, a 
town upon the lake Larius, near which he had several 
beautiful villas. Cscilius was the name of his father, and 
Plinius Secundus that of his mother^s brother, who adopted 
him. He discovered from his infancy, good talents and 
an elegant taste, which he did not fail to cultivate, and in-, 
forms us himself that he wrote a Greek tragedy at fourteen 
years of age. He lost his father when he was young, and 
had the famous Virginius for his tutor or guardian, of whom 
he gives a high character. He frequented the schools of 
the rhetoricians, and heard Quintilian ; for whom he eveif 
after entertained so high an esteem, that he bestowed a 
considerable portion upon ^his daughter at her marriage* 
He was in his eighteenth year when his uncle died ; and it 
was then that he began to plead in the forum, the usuaf 
road to . promotion. About a year after, he assumed the" 
military character, and. went into Syria with the commis- 
sion of tribune : but as this did not suit his tast^, he re** 
turned after a campaign, or, two. He tells Us^ that in hi* 
passage homewards he was detained by contrary winds at 
the island Icaria, and that he employed himself in making 

1 Plioii Epistolae.— MelmolVf Plioy.— tracker.— Saxii OoottAit— 'DibdiaH 
CiMsici and Bibl. Speocer. 



P L I N 1 US. e» 

veirses : h^ efilarges, in the same places upon hisr poetical^ 
efibrt*; but in this respect, like Cicero, he valaed biraselrf. 
upon a talent which he did not eminently possess. 

Upon his return from Syria, he settled at Rome, in the 
reign of Domitian. During this most perilous time, he 
codtiflued to plead in the forum, where he was distin« 
guished, not more by his uncommon abilities and eloquence, 
than by bis great resolution and courage, which enabled, 
htm to speak boldly, when hardly any one else could ven« 
tore to speak at alL On these accounts he was often singled 
out by the senate, to defend the plundered provinces 
against their oppressive governors, and to manage other 
causes of a like important and dangerous nature. One of 
these causes was in favour of the province of Bsetica, in 
their prosecution of Bsbius Massa ; in which he acquired 
so general an applause, that the emperor Nerva, then a 
private man, and in banishment at Tarentum, wrote him a 
letter, in which he congratulated, not only Pliny, but the 
age which had produced an example so much in the spi- 
rit oftte ancients. Pliny relates this aflPair, in a letter to 
Tacitus; uod he was so. pleased with it himself, that ha 
eoDild not help informing his correspondent that he should 
not be- sorry to find it recorded in his history. He obtained 
the offices of questor and tribune, and escaped the pro- 
scriptions of the. tyrannical reign of Domitian. I'here it^ 
however, reason to believe that he owed his safety to the 
death of the emperor, as his name was afterwards found in 
that savage^s tablets among the number of those who were 
destined to detraction. 

He had married, on settling at Ron;ie, but losing his wife 
in the beginning of Nerva's reign, he soon after took his 
beloved Calphurnia; of whom we read so much in his 
Epistles. He had not however any children by either of 
his wives ; and hence we find him thanking Trajan for the 
JUS trium liberarum, which he afterwards obtained of that 
emperor for his friend Suetonius Tranquillus. He was pro* 
moted to the consulate by Trajan in the year 100, when he 
was thirty*eight years of age : and in this office pronounced 
that famous panegyric, which has ever since been ad- 
mired, as well for the copiousness of the topics, as the ele- 
gance of address. He was then elected augur, and after- 
wards made proconsul of Bithynia; whence he wrote to 
Trajan that curious letter concerning the primitive Chris«< 
lians, wjiiicb, with Trajan's rescript, is happily extant 



64 P L I N I U S. 

among his " Epistles." " Pliny's letter,'* as Melofioth ob- 
serves, in a note upon the passage, ^^ is esteemed as al- 
most the only genuine monument of ecclesiastical anti- 
quity, relating to the times immediately succeeding the 
apostles, it being written at most not above forty years 
after the death of iSt. Paul. It was preserved by the 
Christians themselves, as a clear and unsuspicious evidence 
of the purity of their doctrines ; and is frequently appealed 
to hf the early writers of the church, against the calum- 
nies of their adversaries.'* It is not known what became of 
Pliny, after his return from Bithynia ; nor have we any in- 
formation as to the time of his death ; but it is conjectured 
that he died either a little before, or soon after, his patron 
^he emperor Trajan, that is, about A. D. 1 16. 

Pliuy was unquestionably a man of talents, and various' 
accomplishments, and a man of virtue ; but in >dj$iike 
of the Christians he seems to have indulged equally hi^ 
master Trajan, whose liberal sentiments respecting infor- 
mers in his short letter cannot be sufficiently admired. 
Pliny wrote and published a great number of books : but 
nothing has escaped the wreck of time, except the books 
of Epistles, and the ** Panegyric upon Trajan," which has 
ever been considered as a nraster-piece. His Letters seem 
to have been intended for the public ; and in them he may 
be considered as writing his own memoirs. Every epistle 
is a kind of historical sketch, in which we have a view of 
him in some striking attitude, either of active or contem* 
plative life. In them are preserved anecdotes of many 
eniinent persons, whose works are come down to u^s, as 
Suetonius, Silius Italicus, Martial, Tacitus, knd Quinti- 
lian ; and of curious facts, which throw great light upon 
the history of those times. They are written with great 
politeness and spirit ; and, if they abound too much in 
turn and metaphor, we must impute it to that degeneracy 
of taste, which was then accompanying the degenerate 
manners of Rome. Pliny, however, seems to have pre- 
served himself in this latter respect frotin the general con- ' 
tagion : whatever the manners of the Romans were, his 
were pure and incorrupt. His writings breathe a spirit of 
great goodness and humanity : his only imperfection is, h^ 
was too desirous that the public and posterity should know 
bow humane and good he was ; and while he represents 
himself, as he does, calling for Livj*, reading him at his 
leisure, and even making extracts from him, when the erup<> 



P L I N I U S. 66 

tion of Vesuvius was shaking the ground beneath htm, and 
•striking terror through the hearts of mortals by appearances 
unheard of before, it is not possible to avoid being of the 
opinion of those, who think that he had^ with all his virtues, 
something of affectation* 

The ^^ Epistles*' have been translated into English by 
lord Orrery ; but this gave way to the more elegant trans- 
lation of Melmoth ; some of whose opinions appear to 
have been. borrowed by our predecessors in this and the 
preceding life. The first edition of the original *< Epis- 
tols'* is that of Carbo, printed probably by Valdarfer at 
Venice^ in 1471, ifolio. O/ the modern editions, the Va- 
riorum, at Leyden, 1669, 6vo, is praised by Dr Har* 
wood as one of the scarcest and most valuable of the oc- 
tavo variorum classics. There are also correct and critical 
editions by Thomasius, Leipsic, 1675, 8vo; by Hearne, 
Oxford, 1703, 8vo; by Loogolius, Amst. 1734, 4to; by 
Gesoer, Leipsic, 1770, 8vo; a beautiful edition published 
by Mr. Pa^ne in 1790, edited by Mr. Homer ; and a very 
recent one by Gierigius, Leipsic, 1 806, 2 vols. 4to« Most 
of these are accompanied by the <^ Panegyricus,'* which 
was first printed separately, in 1476, quarto, without place 
or printer's name. The best edition since is that of Schwarz, 
at Nuremberg, 1746, 4to.^ 

PLOT (Robert), eminent for being the first who formed 
a plan for a natural history of Englahd, the son of Robert 
Plot, esq. captain of the militia, in the hundred of Milton, 
la Kent, was bom in 1640, at Sutton Baron, in the 
parish of Borden, in that county, and educated at the 
free-school of Wye, in the same county. In March 1658,, 
•be went to' Magdaten-hall, in Oxford, where Josiah PuUen 
was his tutor; took a bachelor of arts degree in 1661, a 
master's in 1664, and both the degrees in law in 1671. 
He removed afterwards to University-college, where he 
9ras at the expenc^ of placing the statue of king Alfred 
over the ball-door. His general knowledge and acuteness, 
and. particularly his attachment to natural history, procured 
his being chosen, in 1677, a fellow of the royal society; 
and in 1682, elected one of the secretaries of that learned 
body. . He published their ^^ Philosophical Transactions,'* 
from No. 143^ to No. 166, inclusive. In 1683, EliasAsh- 

■ ' 

^ VotBiiisde Hist. Lat—Melmoth's translation- —^Life prefixed to tb« Vari- 
•nuB dlltiob.-^Dibdia*! Classics^ itnd Bibl. Spenceriana. 

Vot. XXV. F . 



. I 



66 PLOT. 

mole) esq. appointed him the first keeper of his museum ^^ 
and about the same time be was .noqiiinated by the vice-, 
chancellor the first reader in chemistry in that university. 
In 1687, he was made secretary to the earl-marshal, or 
court of chivalry, which was then renewed, after it had 
lain dormant from the year 1641. In 1690, he resigned his 
professorship of chemistry, and also his place of keeper of 
the museum ; which he then augmented by a very largfe 
collection of natural curiosities, being such as he had 
figured and described in his Histories of Oxfordshire and 
Staffordshire, and there distinguished by the names of 
" Scrinium Plotianum Oxoniense," and." Scrioium Plo- 
tfanum Staffordiense.'* In 1688 he received the title of 
Historiographer to James II. which he could not long re- 
tain, as this was just before the abdication of that sovjereigfi. 
In 16d4*'5, Heory Howard, earl-marshal, nominated him 
Mowbray herald extraordinary ; and two days after, he was 
constituted registrar of the court of honour. He died of 
the stone, April 30, 1696, at his house in Borden, and 
was. buried in the .church there, where a monument was 
afterwards erected to his memory. He left two sons by 
•his wife Rebecca, widow of Henry Burman, to whom he 

wa^ married in August 1690. 

Natural history was his delight; and he gave very agree- 
able specimens of it, in his " Natural Histories of Oxford- 
shire and Staffordshire." The former was published at 
Oxford, in 1677, folio, aqd reprinted. 1705, with additions 
and . corrections, by John Burman, M. A. fellow, of Uni- 
versity-college, his. step-sou, and afterwards vicar of 
Nevyington, Iq Kent ; the latter was printed also at Ox^ 
ford, 1686, in the samesize.^.. These were intended a^ 
essays towards ** A Natural History of England;" for, in 
order to discover antiquities and other curiosities, and to 
promote learning and trade, he formed a design of travel- 
ling through England and Wales* By such researches,, he 
wa$ persuaded that many additions might.be made to Cam* 

- . • 

* ** Ineachof these volumes be re- scriptioo for Plot's Sloffordsbire was, 

cords the rare plants of tke countyf a penny a sheet, a penny a plate^ and 

^escribes the dubious ones, and such six-pence <he m^p.^' '"Dr. Plot was tht 

as he took fornon-iiescTipts^aud figures first author of a separate ruluipe oy 

isever^X of them. To thcfe works the Prorindal Natiiral History; fn which* 

English botanist owes the -Orst kuuw- it is but justice to add, that, with due 

ledge of some £ngiish plants." Put- allowance for the time be mnQte, h^ 

lency's Sketches. Dr. Pulteney adds* l^^* n^t been excelled by a^y subse* 

" It is amusiug lo remark the price of qoent writer." IbiA, 

literature « century 9go. The sub- . \ ^ 



PLOT. 67 

^eD*s Britannia, and other works, concerning tfae history 
and antiquities of England, He drew up a plan of his 
scheme in a letter to bishop Fell, which may be seen at 
the end of the second volume of Leland's Itinerary, of the 
edition of 1744. In these Histories, whatever is visible iu 
the heavens,' earth, and waters ; whatever is dug out of 
the ground, whatever is natural or unnatural ; and what- 
ever is observable in art and science, were the objects of 
his speculation and inquiry ; and various and dissimilar as 
his matter is, it is in general well connected ; and his 
transitions are easy. His books indeed deserve to be called 
the " natural and artificial histories** of these counties. 
Iq the eagerMss and rapidity of his various pursuits, he 
tQok upon tmst, and committed to writing, some things 
which, upon mature consideration, he must have rejected. 
He did not, perhaps, know enough of experimental phi- 
losophy to exert a proper degree of scepticism in the in- 
formation given Vo him. Besides these works, he was the 
author of several other productions. In 1685, he pub- 
lished " De Origine Fontium, Tentamen Philosophicum,*' 
8vo; and the nine following papers of his are inserted in 
the "Philosophical Transactions:'' 1. •* Ari Account of 
Eldcn Hole, in Derbyshire," No. 2. 2. " The Formation 
of Salt and Sand from Brine,*' No. 145. 3. " Discourse 
concerning the Effects of the great Frost on Trees and 
other Plants, in 1683," No. 165. 4. " A Discourse of 
perpetual Lamps," No. 166. 5. ** The History of the 
Weather at Oxford, in 1684 ; or the Observations of a full 
Year, made by Order of the Philosophical Society at Ox- 
ford," No. 169. 6.; " A large and curious Account of the 
Amianthos or Asbestine Linen," No. 1708. 7. " Dis- 
course concerning the most seasonable Time of felling Tim- 
ber, written at the request of Samuel Pepys,esq. secretary of 
the admiralty," No. 192. 8. ** Of an Irishman of an extra- 
ordinary ^^^, viz. Edward Mallone, nineteen years old, 
seven feet six inches high," No. 240. 9. " A Catalogue of 
Electrical Bodies," No. 245. In 1680, he published 
'''The -Clog, or Staffordshire Almanack," engraven on a 
copper-plate, and inserted afterwards in his ^* History of 
Staffordshire." 

Since his decease, there have been published two let- 
ters of his ) one '* giving an Account of some Antiqui- 
ties ; in the County of Kjent," in 1714, -8vo, and pre- 
served in the " Bibllotheca Topographica,'' No, Vl.; 

F 2 



««, P L O T. 

another to the earl of Arlington, " Goncemiog Thetfori},** 
printed at the end of " The History and Antiquities of 
Gjastonbury/' published by Hearne, 172P, 8vo. 
. He left several manuscripts behind hioi ; among which 
Vere large Qiateriais fpr *^ The Natural Htstpry of Keilt^ 
of ^iddlesex^ and of the City of I^ondon/' which \m de? 
afigned (o have writt;en in the sitipe manner as he had writ* 
ten the histories of Oxfordshire and Staffordshire* Hi« 
friend Dr. Charlett^ master of Univ^ersjty-poUege, puob 
wished him to undertake an edition of Pli^y*s <^ Natural 
History/' and a select volun^e pf fiSS. froo) the A^bmo^ 
l^an,Musebm, which he says would be agreeable enough 
to him^ but too expensive, a^ rfsquir^tig bis residence ia 
Oxfordi where he could PQt pi^^ptain hi^ family so cheap 
as at Sutton Baron-' 

PLOTINUS, a celebrated Platppic philosopher, VM 
born at Lycopolis, in Egypt, in the year 20^f but conr 
cerning bis family or edu9ation, nothing i^ known. About 
the age of twenty, he f\jf^t pt\idied philosophy at the dif«> 
fe^^nt school^ of Alexandris^, hut attached hiipself partis 
puiarly to Anfimpniqs, in whorp he found a disposition ta 
superstition and fanaticism lil^e hi^ own. On the death of 
^his preceptor, having in bis sghoo) fnsqMenUy heard the 
jOrienti^l philosophy ^oun^mend^d^ and expecting to find ia 
it thsi^t kipd of doPtfine cono^rnipg divine natures which he 
was most desirous fif studying, he determined to travel 
into Persia apd India, tp tearn wi<«dom ,of the Magi and 
.Gyrpnosopi|is^ ; and M the emperor Gordit^n was at this 
time undertaking an expedition against the Parthians, PIq- 
tinus seized the ocpasio^), find in the year 243 joined the 
eniperor's army ; bi^t the emperor being killed, Plotinus 
fled to Antioch, and thenc§ came to Rome, where Philip 
was npw emperor. 

Fo^ some time Plotinus remained silent, ip consec[ueace 
of the oath o£ secrecy which he had t^ken in the school of 
^mmpnius; but after bis f^Uow disciples, Herennius and 
Origines, had disclosed the ipysteries of their master, he 
thought himself no longer boiind by his promisie, and l^e- 
' came a public precep^Q? in philosophy, upon ecleetie prin- 
ciples. During a period of ten yearjs, he delivered all in 

1 Biog. Brit.— -Ath. Ox. vol. Il.-^haw's Suffords^ire, apd Ifatted'a K«at<^ 
•OeifyL Mag. LXV. where is a view of bis bouse, a^ maay particulars of bu 
fismUy. — Granger. — Letters of Eminett Persoa% 3 foil. Sro.-v^oble^ C«Heg« 
•f Arms*— Go^gh's Topography. 



P L a T I N u s. «# 

tbe way of convcfsstioB^' but at last be fdond it neeta^^y 
lo commit tbe substattde of bis lectures to vrficifig ; and 
ihis being suffered to pass into tbe bands of his pupils whbdbt 
being transcribed^ we cannot be surpriced at tbe gresfct ob- 
scprity and confusion which mie still found in bis wi'iting^, 
ftfi^ all the paifM that Porphyry took to correct them. Uh 
works are diattiboted under six classes, called Enn^ad^. 
Proobs Wi^ote Gommentarieft upon tbem, and Dexippvls de^ 
leaded tbem against the Peripatetics^ 

Although Plotinus'a plaft was new$ it was oi>scure, and 
be had but few dtscipWs. He Wz§ rtot the less ifssiduotii, 
bowerer^ in teaching, and stadierd tery hafd, preparing 
bimself by w j^tcbiirg and fastrng. He was $o re^peeidd fbr 
itisdofn and imegrity, that inany pi^iyate quarrels were te^ 
ferred to bis arbhraiion, aild parents on their death-ib^ds 
wene very desirous of consigning their children to bis C8lr€^. 
During bis residence of iwetity-^ix year^ at Rootei he be- 
came a fs^votirite #itbOriienifs, airrd «^duld bstve persuaded 
tbat eufpetor to re-build a eitiy in Campania, and people 
it with pbijoaophers, to be goverued by the lawsr 5f Plato ; 
but this was not effected. Although akiHed in the medical 
ar^ be had sueh a contempt for the body, ihnt he would 
\HBsnsr take any medicines when iirdisposerd ;• nor fof tbe 
same reason would he suffer hi^birtb-day ^ be ceAebraied, 
or any portrait to be taken of his persofi. Hits pupil Ame- 
bu% bowei'er, procured one by stealtb^ pai^Affed while he 
was lectwring. Such a))stin^cey and negkect of health, 
turougbt him into a state of disease and iinfiriAity^ which 
rendered the latter part of his life exceedingly painful. 
When be found his end approacbifyg, be said to Eusto- 
ehius, ^^ The divine principle within f&e is now hastening 
to ntAie itself witb that divine being which animates tbc^ 
universe ;^* herein expressing a leading principle of hid 
philosophy, that tbe bumaln soul is an emanation fi*otti tbe 
divine natute, mid will return to the source whenc!^ it pfo^ 
toeded, Plotinus di^d iff the year 270, aged iix^y-^ 
years. Porphyry repreieats bim as haviag been possessied 
Ipfmiraculons pdwers, but there is Mofe reason to couiclude 
from his life and writings, that he belonged to the class of 
famttics* His natural tetop^er, his education, his dyitetby 
all inclined him to fadaticism. Suffering himself to be I^ 
astray by a yolatHe imagiuation, from tbe pli^A p&ih of 
good sense, be poured forth crude and confused concept 
tions, jn obscute and incoherent language. Sometime? 



70 P L O T I N U S. 

he soared in extattc flights iiito the regions of mjrstiGisnf. 
Porphyry relates^ that be ascended through all the Piatonie 
steps of divine contemplation, to the actual vision of the 
deity himself, and was admitted to such intercourse with 
Jiim, as no other philosopher ever enjoyed. They who 
are well acquainted with human nature, will easily perceive 
in these flights, unequivocal proofs of a feeble or disordered 
mind, and will not wonder that the system of Plotinus was 
mystical, and his writings obscure. It is much to be re« 
gretted that such a man should have becoine, in a great 
degree, the preceptor of the world, and should, by means 
of his disciples, have every where disseminated a species 
pf false philosophy, which was compounded of superstition, 
enthusiasm, and imposture. The muddy waters sent forth 
from this polluted spring, were spread through the most 
celebrated seats of learning, and were even permitted to 
mingle with the pure stream of Christian doctrine.^ 

PLOWDEN (Edmund), a celebrated lawyer, the son 
of Humphrey Plowden, of Plowden, in Shropshire,^ of au 
ancient and. genteel family^ was born in that county, in 
1517, and first studied philosophy and medicine for three 
years at Cambridge ; but removed after a time to Oxford, 
where he continued his former studies for four years more,^ 
and in 1552, according to Wood, was admitted to the 
practice of physic and surgery. Tanfter says, that when 
he left Cambridge, he entered himself of the Middle 
Temple, and resuming the study of physic, went then to 
Oxford. It appears, however, that he finally determined 
on the law as a profession, and entered the Middle Temple, 
where he sbpn became reader. His first reading was in 
autumn, 4 and 5 of Philip and Mary ; and his second was 
in Lent, 3 Eliz. In queen Mary's time he was called to 
the degree of serjeant; but, being zealously attached to 
the Romish persuasion,, lost all further hopes of prefer*- 
nient, . on . the accession of Elizabeth. He continued to 
be much consulted in private as a counsellor. He died 
Feb. 6, 15S4-5, and was buried in the Middle Temple 
church. By a MS note on a copy of his Reports once im 
the possession of Dr: Ducarel, it appears thathe was trea- 
surer- of the Middle Temple in. 1572, the year in which: 
the hall was built. It is added that ^^he was a man of great 
gravity, knowledge, and integrity ; in his youth . excess 

' Gen. Diet.— Brocker, — Life b^ Porphyry. — Saxii Oaoma9t. 



•P L O W D E N. 71 

sively studious, so that (we have it by tradition) in. three 
years space be went not once out of the Temple." 

The work by which Mr. Plowden is best known by the 
profession, is his *< Comoientaries or Reports, containing 
clivers cases upon matters of law, argued and determined 
HI the reigns of Edwa'rd VI., Mary, Philip and Mary, and 
Eliz." These were originally written in French, and the 
edicions of 1^71, 1578, 1599, 1613, and 168^, were pub- 
lished in that language. It was not until 1761, that an 
Eogliah translation appeared, improved by many original 
notes and references to the ancient and modern Common 
Law. books. To this edition were added his *^ Queries, 'or 
Moot^rBook for young Students," and '* The Argument,*' 
in the. case of William Morgan et al. v. Sir Rice ManxelL 
Mr. Elaines Barrington calls Plowden the most accurate of 
all reporters ; and Mr. Hargrave says that his '^ Commen- 
taries'' deservedly bear as high a character k» any book of 
reports ever published in our law.V 

PLUCHE (Antony), a French writer, born at Rheinfis, 
m 1688, was early distinguished by his progress in polite 
letters, and by his amiable character, qualities which pro- 
cured him to be appointed classical professor in the uni- 
versity of Rheims. Some time after, he was removed to 
the professorship of rhetoric,' and admitted into holy'or- 
ders. Clermont, bishop of Laon, being made acquainted 
with bis merit, offered him the place of director of the 
college of Clermont, and he^was advancing the reputation 
of this seminary, when the peculiar opinions he held re- 
specting some subjects which then interested the public, 
obliged him to leave his situation. On this, Gasville, the 
iatendant of Rouen, 'appointed him tutor to his son, upon 
the recommendation of the celebrated Rollin. After this, 
he webt to Parjs,, where he first gave lectures upon history 
and geography, and then jicquired a considerable repuia- 
tipu by some works which he published : I. His *^ Spec- 
tacle de la Nature^' is generally known, having been trans- 
lated into perhaps all the European languages, and was no 
^faere more popular than in England for many years. This 
work is written with perspicuity and elegance, and is equally 
. iastructive and agreeable ; its only fault is, that the author 
uses too many words for bis matter, which, however, is 

• Ath. Ox. vol. I. new edit. — Fuller*a Worthies. — ^Tanner. — Lloyd's StaU 
\ Woitfaies.— Dodd^fl Ch. Hist. — Brid^maii^s Legal Bibliography. 



T!» 



P L U CHE. 



perhaps unavoidable in the diaIog;ue form of wriung. H.* 
<< Histoire du Ciel/' in 2 voIa« 12mOy is another work o^ 
tht. abb^ Plucbe^ a kind of mythological history of the 
h^aveoSf Goosisting of two parts^ almost independent of 
on.e another. The first, which contains some learned la- 
quiriQS into the origin of thift poetic heavens, and an at- 
tempt to prov^ that the pagan deities had not been real 
men, was animadverted upon by M. Silouette, in ^< Ob- 
servation^ on the Abb6 Pluche's History," &c. an actouat 
of which may be seen in the *^ History of the Works of the' 
Learned*^ for April 1743, with notes by Warburton. 3. 
He wrote a tract also ^^ De* artificio linguarum,'' 1735, 
I^moy which he translated himself, under the title ci *^ La 
M^chanique des Langaes,*' in which he prc^oses a short 
i^nd easy method of learning languages, by the use of 
translations instead of themes or exercises. 4. <^ Concorde 
de la Geographie des differens ages,'' 1764, 12mo, a post* 
humous work, well conceived, but executed superficially. 
5. ^^ Harm^nie des Pseaumes et de TEvangile,'' 1764, 12mo9 
a translation of the Psalms, remarkable for its fidelity and 
elegance, with many learned notes of reference and iUos«« 
tration from other partS' of Scripture, Pluche had ob*' 
tained the abbey of Yarenne St Maur, to which he retired 
in 1749, and gave himself up entirely to devotion and- 
study, which was a happy relief to him^ as be lost all the 
pleasures of literary society, by an incttrable deafness. He 
died of an apoplexy, Nov»20, 1761. He was a beli0ver 
in all the mysteries of his church, even to an extreme ; 
and when some free-thinkers used to expre^ their ajitonish- 
ment that a man of abbe Pinchers force of understanding 
could think so like the vulgar, he used to say, *^ I glory 
in this : it is more reasonable to believe the word of God, 
than to follow the vain and uncertain lights of reason."^ 

PI4UKENET (Leonard), a celebrated English botanist, = 
was born, as he himself has recorded, in 1642, but where 
he was educated^ oc in what university he.recieived bit 
degrees, has not been ascertained. It has been conjec- 
tured, from a few circumstances, that it was at Cambridge^- 
His name seems of French extraction, plus fue net^ afKtbas 
been Latinized plus, quant nitidus. He dates the prefaces 
to bis works from Old Palace^yard, WestminM^er, where 
he seems to have had a small garden. It does not appear 

» Diet. Hilt. 



P L U K E N E T- t J 

tfast Jie tttatned to anjr. codaideraUe eminence mhisfprO'^ 

fMion of pbjrsic, and it b snspected be was orAy an ap<>^ 

theeary, hmt be was absorbed in the study of plant9, and 

de?oted ail his leisure to tbe composition of his ** Pbyto-* 

gii^)bia." He apured no. puns to procure specino^ns of 

rsie.and itevr plaBts^ bad correspondents in all parts of the 

world, and access to the gardens of Hampton-cotirfj tbenf 

tery flourishing, and all others that were enriousw Kq-* 

ketlet was one of those to whom Ray was indebted foi^ a^^ 

sistance in^ tbe arrangeraeDt of tbe second volume of bi# 

histoxy^ and that eminent man erery where bears the 

stinogest testimoDy to bis merit. Yet he was in want of 

patronage, and felt that wafit severely. With Sloane and 

PetiTer, two of the first botanists of his own age^ he seeoHf 

to have been at variance;, and censures their writings with 

toe itiiieh asperity. ^< Plokenet,'* says sir J. E. Smieh,' 

whose opinion in such matters we ate always happy to*' 

follow, ^was, apparently, a man of more solid learning 

tton either of those distuigussbed writers, aod having bfeen 

Itesprosperoos than either, he was perhaps less dlspo^red 

to palliate their errevs. As far as we have examined, hh 

Griticisms, however severe, are not unjust." 'No obstat^esi 

daaaped die ardour of Pluhenet in his fitvourite pursUir. 

He was himself atthe charge of his engravings, and printed* 

the whole work at his own expence, with the Exception 

of a small subacriplion of about fifty-five guineas, whieb 

he obtainisd oear the conclusion of it. Towards the close' 

of bis life he* is said to hove been assisted by the queen, 

ami to have obtained theMperintendaiice of the garden at 

Hampton-court. He was also honoured with the title of 

myai: pibfessor of botany. The time of his decease i^ not 

pieciisely ascertained, but it is probable' that he did notf 

long survive hb last ptfblicationy whrch appeared t^ 1705. 

tts works- were, i; ^^ Phytographia, sive stirpium illu^tr^um 

^aimsat cogastoruiH icones,'^ 169'! — 1696, published irr 

btir partsv and centakiing 328 plates, lit 41a. 2. ** Afma** 

(pestam BMlanfcuoi, sive Phytographi» Plukenetianas Ottct* 

ttsstteon,*^ &e; 1696, 4to ; the catalogue is alphabetical, and 

<niniaias iveorr 6000 species, of which, be tells us, 500 weret 

D«w. No man^ after Caspar Bauhine, bad- till then' ex« 

ttttsied the ancient aivcbors with sto much attention as be 

<lidythae.be might settle bis synoirj^ms with accuracy. He 

follows no system. 3, ** Almagesti Botanici Mantissa/* 

1700, 4to, with twenty-five new plates. Besides many 



L-. 



74 P L U K E N E T. 

new plants^ this volume cootains very nmnerous adiition^ 
to the synonjms of the Almagesturo. 4. Five yearrs afterr 
the Mantissa he published the '^ Amaltheum Botanicum,'^* 
with three plates, 4to. It abounds with new subjects, sent 
from China and the East Indies, with some from Florida. 
These works of Plukenet contain upwards of 2740 figures, 
most of them engraved from dried specimens, and. many 
from small' sprigs, destitute of flowers, or any parts of 
fructification, and consequently not to be ascertuned : but 
several of these, as better specimens came to hand, ar^ 
figured again in the subsequent plates. As he employed a 
variety , of artists, they are unequally executed; those b5«' 
Vander Gucht have usually the preference. « It is *much 
to be regretted that he had it not in his power to give his 
figures on a larger scale ; yet, with all their imperfections^ 
these publications form a large treasure of botanical know-' 
l^edge. The herbarium of Plukenet consisted of -8000 
plants, an astonishing number to be collected by a pri« 
vate and not opulent individual : it came, after his death, 
into the hands of sir Hans Sloane, and. is now in the British 
museum. His works were republished, with new title* 
pages, in 1720, and entirely reprinted, with some addi- 
tions, in 1769; and in 1779 an Index : Linnseanus to^ his 
plates were published by Dr. Giseke^ of Hamburgh, which 
contains a few notes, from a MS. left by Plukenet. The 
original MS. of Pl,ukenet*s works is now in the library ofi 
sir J. £. Smith, president, of the Linnssan society. Plu* 
mier, to be mentioned in the next article,, complimented 
this learned botanist by giving his name tq a plant, a na*« 
tive of both Indies. ^ 

PLUMIER (Charles), called Father Plumter, being a* 
religious, of the order of Minims, was born at Marseilles, 
April 20, 1646, and was a botanist not less famoos thant 
his contemporary Plukenet. He entered into his order at. 
sixteen, and studied mathematics and other sciences at> 
Toulouse, undet father Maignan, of the same society. H«: 
did not only learn the profound sciences, but became an* 
expert mechanic. In the art of turning he became such a. 
proficient as to write a book upon it ; and teamed also to* 
make lenses, mirrors, microscopes, and otiier matheiiia«*t 
tical instruments, all : which knowledge he gained from 
Maignan. He was soon after sent by his superiors t« 

* Pulteney^s Sketches. — Life by sir J. E. Smith, in Rees'i Cyclopti^U. 



P L U M I E R. 7« 

4 
\ 

lome, where, by his application, to mathematics, optics, 
and other studies, he nearly destroyed his constitution. 
As a relaxation from these severer sciences, he applied to 
botany, under tiie instruction of father Serjeant, at Rome, 
of Francis de Onuphriis, an Italian physician, and of Syl- 
Tins Boccone, a Sicilian. Being recalled by his order 
into Provence, he obtained leave to search the neighbt>ur«- 
iog coasts, and the Alps, for plants ; and soon became 
acquainted widi Tournefort, then on bis botanical tour^ 
and with Garidel, professor^'of botany at .Aix. When he 
bad thus qualified himself, he was chosen as the associate 
^ioC Surian, to explore the French settlements in the West 
Indies, as Sloane had lately examined Jamaica. He ac- 
quitted himself so well that he was twice afterwards sent 
at the* expence of the king, whose botanist he was ap« 
pointed^ with an increased salary each time. Plumier 
passed two years in those islands, and on the neighbouring 
continent, but principally in Domingo ; and made designs 
of, many hundred plants, of the natural size, besides nu» 
merotts figures of birds, fishes, and insects. On his return 
from his second voyage he had bis first work published at 
the Louvre, at the king's expence, entitled, 1. ^^ Descrip- 
tioiis des Plantes de I'Amerique,'* fol. 1695, pp. 94, 108 
pbites. : These figures consist of little more than outlines,* ' 
but' being as large as nature, and well drawn by himself, 
produce a fine effect. On bis return from his third voyage 
He settled at Paris, and in 1703 published, 2. his ^^ Nova 
Flantarum Americanarum Genera/' 4to. In the year en- 
suing he was prevailed upon by M. Fagon to undertake a- 
voyage to Peru, to discover and delineate the Peruvian 
baik. His great zeal for the science, even at> that age, 
induced him to consent ; but while he was waiting for the 
ship near Cadiz, he was seized with a pleurisy, and died 
in 1*704. Sir^. E. Smith says, that as Rousseau's Swiss 
herbalist died <}f a pleurisy, whilst employed in gathering 
a sovereign Alpine remedy for that disorder ; so it is not^ 
improbable that Plumier was extolling the Poly trichum (see 
ins: preface, p. 2.) as ^^ un antipleuritique des plus assurez," 
wh^'heliimself fell a victim to the very same distemper;, 
leaving his half-printed book to be his monument. This 
was, 3. **Trait6 des Fougeres de rAmerique," on the Ferns' 
of America, 1705, folio, 172 plates. He published, as 
above-mentioned, 4. " L'Art deTourner," the Art of Turn- 
ing, Lyons, 1701, and republished in 1749. 5. There are 



H P'L U M I E R. 

riso two disaeFtations by biro» in the Journal det ^ammd^ 
1694^ and thai of Trevoux, to prove, what is ndw wett 
known^ that the cochineal is an insect. 

The above works contained but a small part of the pro*- 
dvttxitmB of Plumier^s pencil. Vast treasures of his draw-^ 
sngSy io outline^ bavQ remained in the French librariea, 
for Iti^ nsosi p^irt unpttbitshed. The late earl of Bute ob» 
taiiised copies of a great pmnber of these, which after 4iis 
lo^dship^s death passed into the hands of sir Joseph Baalw. 
Ikierbaave btid previously, procured copies of above itOO, 
done by the. accurate Aubriet,; under Vaillant's hispeation^ 
which were afterwards, in great part ai leasts publislied by 
John Burman at Amsterdam, between 1755 and. IT^O. 
These plates ave executed with tolerable, but by no iiieaii|s 
infalUble, accuracy, being far inferior in. neatness and\cor-» 
rectness to what Plumier himself published* Tbe weiU 
aaeiaiiing editor has overloaded the book with descriptions 
of bis own,, necessarily made from the figures, and them* 
fore entirely superfluous. They ar« indeed not unfre^ 
quently founded in misapprehension ; niH* has he been 
nery happy in the adaptation of his materials to Linnssan 
names^ and principles. 

Our author left no herbarium of bis own, his collectioii 
of dried plants having been lost at sea; but he had, on 
various occasions, communicated dried specimens toTounm^ 
fort;, and these still remain, with his hand*wi'itinig an-* 
nexed, in the collections at Paris. Lister, who visited 
Plumier in his cell at the convent of Minifiss in that ci^, 
speaks of his obliging, and communicative manners, and of 
bis ^^ designs and paintings of plants^ birds, fishes^ and 
insects of the West Indies, all done by himself very ae» 
curately."' 

PLUTARCH, a great phili^sopher at^ historian of aii^ 
tiquity, who lived from the reign of Claudius to. that of 
Adrian, was born at Cbserofiea, a siuall city of Bceotia^ m 
Greece, which had also been, the birth-place of Pindar^ 
but was far from partaking of the proverbial dulness of his 
ctMintry. . Plutarch^s family was ancient in Ch8eronea<: bis> 
grandfather Lamprias was a man eminent for bis learmtigy' 
and .a philosopher; and is often mentioned by FlutaKdi iw 
is writings, as i^ also bis father. Plutarch was initiated 



1 Life by sir J. £. SoHih, in Rees's CycIoMBdia.— PaltirDtyV Botany.— Li«- 
Vr's Joaniey io Fari^— Niceron, ▼ol. XXXlll. 



PLUTARCH: 11 

I 

•ariy ib study » to which be rfns naturally iadined; and 
wA$ placed under AnmiDuius an Egyptian, who, having 
lau^t philosophy with i epoUtion at Ai^xandrta, tbenoa 
emVelled into Greece, and settled at Athens. Under this 
Qiaster he made great advances in knowledge, but being 
mors intent on things than words, he neglected the Ian* 
guages. The Eoman language at that time was not only 
the language of Rpme, but of Greece also^ and nMich 
iPdofe used there thao the French is now in England. .Yd 
he was so far from regarding it then, that, as we learn 
from himself, be did not become conversant in it till .the 
decline of life; and, though he is supposed to have re* 
sided in Rome near forty years, at different times, he ne^er 
>eems to have /aoquir^d a competent skill in it. 

After he had received his first instructions from Ammo* 
nius, he considered with himself, that a larger comnipnc» 
cation .with the wise and learned was yet necessary, and 
therefore resolved to travel. Egypt was, at that time, at 
formerly it ,bad been, famous for learning | and probably 
ibemysterieusness of their doctrine might ten^pt him, as 
il had tempted Pythagoras and others, to conirerse with 
the priesthood of that country. This appears to have been 
partionUrly his business, by bis treatise *^ Of Isis and 
Osiris,*' in which he shews himself versed .in the ancient 
theology and philosophy of the wise men. From Egypt 
he returned into Greece'; and, visiting in bis way all the 
academies and schools of the philosophers, gathesed from 
them many of those observations with which he has . Abun<* 
dantly enriched posterity. He does not seem to. have 
been attached to any particular sect, but chose from each 
0f them whatever be thought excellent and worthy to be 
regarded. He could not bear the paradoxes of the Stoics, 
foib yet was* morearverse to the impiety of the Epicureans : 
in many things he followed Aristotle ; but his favourites 
were Socrates and Plato, whose memory he reverenced so 
highly, that he annually celebrated their birth -days^ with 
tnu^Qh solemnity. Besides this, he applied himself with 
extreme diligence to collect, not only all books thai wete 
excellent in their kind, hut also all the sayings ami obser- 
vations of wise meo, v^bich he had heard in conversation^ 
or had received fsom others by tradition ; ainl likewise to 
consult the records and public instruments preserved in 
eitiea which he had visited, in his travels. He took a par- 
jlici^lar journey ta Sparta, to search the ar(5hives of that 



T« PL U T A R C H. 

famous comaionwealth, to understand thoroughly the inp<^ 
del of their ancient government^ the history of their Iegis<i* 
lators, their kings, and their ephori; and digested all 
their niemorable deeds and sayings with so much care, that 
he has not omitted even those of their women. He took . 
the same methods with regard to many other common- 
wealths; and thus Wias enabled tpleaye in his works such 
observations upon men and manners, as have rendered 
bim, in the opinion of many, the most valuable author of 
antiquity. 

The circumstances of Plutarch's life are not known, and 
therefore cannot be related with any exactness. He was 
married, and his wife'« name was Timoxena, as Rualdus^ 
conjectures with probability. He had several children, 
and among them two sons, one called Plutarch after him- 
self, the other Lamprias, in memory of his grandfather. 
Laraprias was he, of all his children, who seems to have 
inherited his fatber^s philosophy; and to him we owe the 
table or catalogue of Plutarch's writings, and perhaps also 
his "Apophthegms." He had a nephew, Sextus Chsero- 
neus, who taught the emperor Marcus Aurelius the Greek 
language, and was much honoured by him. Some think 
that the critic Longin us was of his family ; and Apuleius, 
in tbe first book of his Metamorphoses, affirms himself to 
be diescended from him. 

On what occasion, and at what time of his life, he went 
to Rome, how long he lived there, and when he finally re- 
turned to his own country, are all uncertain. It is pro- 
bable, that the fame of him, went thither before him, not 
only because he had published several of bis works, but 
because immediately upon his arrival, as there is reason to 
beilieve, he had a great resort of the Roman nobility to hear 
him : for he tells us himself, that he was so taken up in 
giving lectures of philosophy to the great men of Rome, 
that he bad not time to make himself master of the Latin 
tongue, which is one of the first things that would natu* 
rally have engaged his attention. It appears, that he was 
several times at Rome ; and perhaps one motive to his in- 
habiting there was, the intimacy he had contracted in some 
of these journeys with Sossius Senecio, a great and worthy 
man, who had been four times consul, and' to whom Pla* 
tarch has dedicated many of his lives. , But the great in^^ 
ducement which carried him first to Rome was, undoubt- 
edly, that which had carried him into so many other parts 



PLUTARCK. 7» 

• 

of the world ; 'namely, to make obserTadoos upon men 
aadomnners, ^nd to collect materials for writing ^^ The 
hvves of the Roman Worthies," in the same manner as he 
bad already written those of Greece : and, accordingly, 
he not only conversed with all the living, but searched the 
records of the Capitol, and of all the libraries. Not but, 
as we. learn from Suidas, he was entrusted also with the 
management of public affairs in the empire, during his 
residence in the metropolis : >^ Plutarch,'' says he, ^' liyed 
in thcf time of Trajan, who bestowed on him the consular 
ornaments, and also caused an edict to be passed, that the 
magistrates or o6Scers of Illyria should do nothing in that 
province without his knowledge and approbation.'' 

When» and how, he was made known to Trajan, is like- 
vvise uucertain : but it is generally supposed, that Trajan, 
a private man when Plutarch first came to Rome, was, 
among other nobility,- one of his auditors. It is also sup* 
posed, that this wise emperor made use of him in bis 
councils ; and much of the happiness of his reign has been 
imputed to Plutarch. The desire of visiting his native 
country, so natural to all men, and especially when grow- 
ing old, prevailed with him at length to leave Italy ; and^ 
at bis.returo, he was unanimously chosen archon, or chief 
magistrate, of Ch^eronea, and not long a;fter admitted into 
the number of the Delphic ApoUo's priests. We have no^ 
psyrticulir aqcount of hi^ death, .either as to the manner or 
the. year; but conjecture has fixed it about the year 120. 
It is evident that he lived, and continuc^d his studies, to an 
extreme old age; 

His works have been divided, and they admit of a tole- 
rably equal division, into " Liv^s" and ** Morals:" the 
former of which, in his own estimation, were to be pre- 
feitred, as more noble than the latter. As a biographer 
he has ^reat merit, and to him we stand indebted for 
jnuch of the knowledge we possess, concerning several of 
the most eminent personages of antiquity. His style per- 
haps may be justly censured for harshness and obscurity, 
and be has also been criticized for some mistakes in Roman 
antiquities, and for a little partiality to the Greeks. On 
tile other, band, he has been justly praised, for sense, learn^ 
^%9 integrity, and a certain air of goodness, which ap- 
pear^ in all he wrote. Some have affirmed his works to 
be a kind of library, and collection of all that was. wisely 
iaid.^nd, done among the ancient Greeks and Romans;; 



L 



V 



rBO PLUTARCH. 

aod if sp, the saying of Theodoras Gasa was not extrair*- 
gaot. This learned man, and great predeptor of the Gredi: 
tongae at the revival of literature, being asked by a friend 
t ^< If learntngniust suffer a general shipwreck, and he have 
only his choice of one author to be preserved, who that 
author should be ?" answered, '' Plutarch.'" But although 
it is unquestionable that in extent and variety of learning 
Piuti^rch had few equals^ he does not appear to have ex- 
celled as much in, depth and solidity of judgment Wbetis 
be expresses bis own conceptions and opinions, be often 
auppGurts fthem by feeble and slender arguments^: where be 
ireports, and attempts to elucidate, the opinions of others, 
he frequently falls into mistakes, or is chargeable witk 
fliisrepresentatiofis. In proof of this assertion/ Br ucker 
meptions what he has advanced concerning Plato's notion 
^f the soul of the world, and concerning the £ptcureati 
philosophy. Bruoker addbi, that Plutarch is often inaccu*- 
irate in method, and sometimes betrays a degree of eredu- 
iity u nworthy of a philosopher. 

'^ There have been many editions of Plutarch, but he canne 
later to the press than most other classical authors* There 
4vas 00 edition of any part' of the original Greek, before 
Aldus prii^ted the ^^ Morals," which was not until 1509% 
n^he *^ Lives" appeared first at Florence, by Junta, in 1517. 
/The first edition of the ^^ Opera Omnia," was Stephen'^ 
at Paris, in 157d, Greek and Latin, 13 vols. Dr. Harwood 
ealls it one of the most correct books H. Stephens evei* 
fMibtished ; but other crities are by no means of this opi* 
nion. The next was that of Cruserius, at Francfort, 1599^ 
•2 vols, folio) wh;ch has the advantage of Xylander's excel- 
lent 'Latin version, who himself published two. editions, 
Ffanofort, 1620, and Paris, 1624, 2^bk. folio; both va^ 
iuable* Reiske's, of Leipsic, 1774> &c. 12 vols, ^o, is 
a oiost elaborate edition, which, however, he did not live 
to finish. .But the best of all is that of Wy ttenbacb, pub- 
lished lately at Oxford in quarto and octavo, and too wbll 
'known to scholars to require any description. 
' Plutarch's Works have been translated into most Euro- 
pean kmguftges. There is an indiffeVentone in English by 
^^rious bands of the ^' Morals," printed about the begins 
ning of the last century, in five volumes, octavo ; which.was 
acc^ompanied, about the same time, by the ^' Lives,'^ trans- 
lated by Dry den and others : a very superior transrlation of 
she latter was published by Dr. Langhorne and bis brother^ 



P L UTAH C,H- 



81 



f O 



^kh has been since corrected, and very much im{)roved| 
bj Rir. WranghatS. A good translation of the "Morals'* is 
still a desideratum. * 

PLUVINEL (ANTOiire), a gentleman of Dftuphtny, is ^ 
recoi;ded as the first who opened a school for riding the 
manege in Frauce, which, till then, could be learhed only 
in Italy. He flourished in the reign of Henry IV. who mad«f' 
him bis chief master of the horse, and his chamberlain ; 
besides which, he sent him as an ambassador into Holland. * 
He died at Paris in 162^, having prepared a work, which 
was published five years after, entitled ** VArt de montet 
i Cheval,^' folio, with plates. The figures are portraits, by 
Crispin de Pas. * 

POC0CK (Edward), a learned English divine, and the 
first Oriental scholar of his time, was th^ son of Edward 
Pocock, B. D. some time fellow of Magdalen college, Ox* 
ford, and vicar of Chively in Berkshire. He was born at 
Oxford Nov. 8, 1604, in the parish of St. Peter in th<$ 
East. He was sent early to the free-school of Thame, 
where be made such progress in classical learning, undef 
Mr. Richard Butcher, an excellent teacher, that at the&g^ 
of fourteen he was thought fit for the univ^sity, and ac*^ 
^ordingly was entered of Magdalen^hall. After two years 
residence here, he was a candidate for, and after a vtrf 
strict examination, was elected to, a scholarship of Corpus v 
Christi college, to which he removed in December 1620,' 
Here, besides the usual academical courses, be diligently 
perused the best Greek and Roman authors, and, among' 
some papers writjten by him at this time, were many ob* 
servations and extracts from Quintilian, Cicero, Plutarchi 
Plato, &c. which discoveif* no common knowledge of what 
he read. In November 1622, he was admitted bachelor of 
iurts, and about this time was led, bywhat means we are 
not told, to apply to the study of the Eastern language^: 
which at that time were taught privately at Oxford by 
Matthew Pasor. (See Pasor). In ^arch 1626, he wat 
created M. A. and having learned as much as Pasor then** 
professed to teact^, he found another able tutor for Easti^rti 
literature in the Rev. William Bed well, vicar of Tottenham j 
near London, whom his biographer praises as one 6f th^' 
first who promoted the study of the Arabic language id^ 

t Life, in Lang^honie's edition. -—Saxii OnomMtk 
"^ Moreri.— 'Dick, itist. 



YoL. XXY. 



6 



«2 P O C O C K. 

Europe. Under this master Mr. Pocock advanced consider- 
lably in what was now become his favourite study ; and had 
otherwise so much distinguished himself that the college 
admitted him probationer-fellow in July 162S. 

As the statutes required that he should take orders ^ 
within a certain time, he applied to the study of divinity ; 
and while employed in peinising the fathers, councils, and 
ecclesiastical writers, he found leisure to exhibit a speci- 
men' of his progress in the oriental languages by preparing 
for the press those parts of the Syriac version of the 
New Testament which had never yet been published. Igj- 
natius, the patriarch of Antioch, had in the sixteenth cen« ' 
tury sent Moses Meridinaius, a priest of Mesopotamia, into 
the West, to get the Syriac version of the New Testament 
printed,' for the use of his churches. It was accordingly ' 
printed Jt>y the care and diligence ef Albertus Widmanstdd,' 
at Vienna in 1555. But the Syriac New Testament, which' 
was followed in this edition, wanted the second Epistle of 
3t. Peter, the second and third Epistles of St. John,' the 
Epistle of St. Jude, and the whole book of the Revelations, 
because, as Lewis de Dieu conjectures, those parts of boty^ 
Scripture^ though extant among them, were not yet re-»' 
ceiv<sd into the Canon by those Oriental Churches. This' 
defect no one had thought of supplying until De Dieo, on 
the encouragement, aud with the assistance of Oaniei 
Heinsius, set about the Revelation, being furnished with a' 
copy of it, which had been* given, with many other mtanu* 
scripts,; to the university of Leyden by Joseph Scaliger. 
Tba.t version of tbe^pocalypse was printed at Leyden, in 
]^27, but still the four Epistles were wanting, and those 
Mr. Pocock undertook, being desirous that the whole 
New. Testament might at length be' published in that lan- 
guage, which was the vulgar tongue of our Saviour himself 
and bis apostles. A very fair manuscript for this purpose he 
Jbad met with in the Bodleian Library, containing those Epis* 
ties, together with some other parts of the New Testa« 
Q)ent. Out of this manuscript^ following the example of 
De Dieu, he transcribed those epistles in the Syriac cha- 
racter: the same be likewise set down in Hebrew letters, 
adding'the points, not according to the ordinary, but the 
Svriac rules, as they had been delivered by those Ieame4 
Maronites, Amira and , Sionita. He also made a neir 
translation of these epistles out of Syriac into Latin^ com- 
paring it with that of Etzelius, and shewing on Tarioi|^ 



. P O C O C K. «3 

pccasioRs die .reason of hb 4issent frqin htm. He also, 
added the. original Greek) concluding the whole with a 
number of learn^ci and useful notes. Wlien fkiisbed^ al- 
though with the utmost care and exactnessi yet so great 
was'his modesty and distrust of himself, that he could not 
be|>erauadfd to think It fit for. publication, till after it had 
lain by him about a year, when he was induced to consent ' 
to it^ pub|]cat,ion by Gerard John Vossius, who was then 
at Oxford, and to whom it had been shown by Rouse, the 
ibrariaq, as the production of a young man scarcely 
twenty- four years old. Vossius not only persuaded him to 
allow it tp be printed, but promised to take it with him to 
Leyden for that purpose. It was accordingly published 
there in 1630, 4to, after som^ few corrections and altera- 
tions in the Latin version, in which Mr. Pofock readily 
acquiesced, .from the pen of L^wis de Dieu, to whoni 
Vossius committed the care of the work. 

In Dec. 1629 Mr. Pocpck. was ordained prieit by Cor- 
bet, bishop of Oxfor<), by whom he had some tifne before, 
^een admitted into deacon^s orders, and was now appointed 
chaplain to the English merchants at Aleppo, where he 
arrived in Oct. 1630, and continued five or six years. 
Here he distlnguishejd himself by an exemplary discharge 
of the duties of bis function, and when the plague broke 
out in, 1634, was not to be diverted from what he thought 
hii^ duty, when the merchanta fled to the moUntsiins ; but 
continued to administer such comfort as was possible to the 
inhabitants , of , the city^ and the merpy on which he relied 
for his own preservation, was remarkably extiehded to his 
countrymen, not one dying either of those who left, or 
tho^e who remained in the city. While here he paid con- 
siderable attention to the natural history of the place^ aa 
jEar as concerned the illustration of the Scriptures, arid be- 
«des making some farther progress in the Hebrew, Syriac, 
and Ethiopic languages, took the. opportunity which his. 
jiituation afforded of acquiring a familiar knowledge of the 
Arabic. For this purpose he agreed with an Arabian doc- 
tor to give him lessons, .and engaged also a servant of the 
same country to live with him for the sake of conversing 
in the language. He also studied such grammars an4^ 
^xipons as he could find ; read the Alcoran with ^reat care, 
^nd translated much from books in the Arabic, particularly 
.a. collection which be procured pf 6000 proverbs, contain- 
ing the wisdom pf the Arabians, and referring to ibe most 

Q 2 



84 f O C O C K. 

» ' - • 

nemarkable passages of their history. These bpportttnitier 
and advantages in time reconciled liitti to a situation which 
at first greatly depressed .his spirits ; the transition indeed 
from Oxford and its scholars to Aleppo and its barbarians, 
could not but affect a man of his disposition. 

Another object he had very much at heart while here, wnsi 
the purchase of Arabic MSS. in which he had considerable 
success. This appears at fWst to have been done at hia/ 
private expence and for his private use; but in a letter 
from Laud, then bishop of London, dated Oct 30, 1631^ 
^e received a commission from that munificent prelate, 
which must have been highly gratifying to him, especially 
as he had no previous acquaintance with his lordship. Tb^ 
bishop's commission extended generally to the purchase ot 
ancient Creek coins, and such MSS. either in the Greek 
or Eastern languages, as he thought would form a valuably 
addition to the university library. Whether any the MS&f. 
afterwards given by Laud to the Bodleian were procured 
at this time seems doubtful* In a letter from Laud, theit 
archbishop, dated May 1634^ we find him thanking Pocock 
for some Greek coins, but no mention of manuscripts. lit 
this lettec, however, is the first intimation of the arch* 
bishop^s design with respect to the foundation of an Ara- 
bic professorship at Oxford, and a hope that Pocock, be-^ 
fore his return, would so far make himself master of, that 
language as to be able to teach it And having carried 
his design into execution about two years afterwards, he 
invited Mr. Pocock to fill the new chair, with these en- 
.couraging words, that ^^ he could do him no greater honour, 
than to name him to the university for his first professor.*^ 
His departure from Aleppo seems to have been much re^ 
jetted by his Mahometan friends, to whom he had en- 
deared himself by his amiable manners ; and it appears also 
that he had established such a correspondence as might stiQ 
enable him to procure valuable manuscripts. 

On his return he was admitted, July 8, 1636, to the 
degree of bachelor of divinity. On the 8th of August fol- 
lowing Dr. Baillie, president of St. John^s, and vice-chan^ 
cellor, informed the convocation that archbishop Laud^ 
then chancellor of the university, in addition to his bene- 
faction of Arabic books to the Bodleian^ had founded a 
professorship, and had settled 40/. a-year, during his life, 
on a person who shotild read a lecture on that language : 
He then mentioned Mr. Pocock of Corpus Cbristi as tbb 



^ O C O C Jf. ^ 

.penoD nomioated by jthe arcbbisliop far tha «>mmibation pf 

^^ coovocatiqu, a man^ as .tbey yenr well knew^ ^'^mi- 

jaeni for bis. probiijiry bislfarniag, and skill i|i. languages.** 

Sein^ .accordingly y^naniiliously elected, ^e entered on i|ia 

. oifiGe two days aftcfi Aug. 10, witb an inaugural speeqb, 

part of wbicb was afterwards pripted, ^ aid Diiem nots^rum 

in Carpaefi Tograi/' edU* Qxon. 1661^ After thi^ iotro- 

, ductipn, ithe^ bpoki wbicb be firs^ .uqdertook to r^ad op, 

. was tbe ** Pje;oyjerbs of AH,'* tb^ fourttp emperor of the Sa- 

.j^ceus, and cpusin-gefipao «4)d son-in-l^w of •M^boo)e^;» a 

^jnan of ;^ucb ^ccovat witb tbftt loipostor, not only for I^is 

valour, bui knowledge too, ibat be us.<^ to declare, thkt 

; if^U ri^e lieari^ng of the. Axabi^Qs were destroyed, it migbt 

,.be foiindtagaia ifi AU,. as a Jiving library. Upon tbis 

book J Q,b^v^ng tbp dir^ctiana 9f tbe acebbisbop in tbe 

[ .^tiites be^b^d prp]i^i4^4i <^e wept an bour^everv Wedn^« 

• f^yM vf^^tioa-tioie, ap{l ifx jC^nt, e;KpMaing th^ sfense of 

the au^fsr^ and the jtbipgs relating to thf igr^mi^ar a|id 

propri€fty of tbe langfiage, s^d.alfo^bewipg it^ ^greem^ot 

witb tbe Hebr/ew|ai(d ^y^ao^as^fteii as (bene wi^ p^casipn. 
Tbe lectf^c; bei^g eo^^d,^^ be usually ije^ain^d fpr soqae 
^ time iq t^e piiUic acbpol, to j^sphe the q^ue^tipns pf bis 
s bearers, ^a^d satisfy tbiem iii tbair doubts; and always ttiat 
i^fternopn gave ad^^^nee i^ Jiis.cbapiber from one p'clppk 
. till four^ ;to all wbo wottld come to ^iii|\fpr fi^rtber cp^« 
^ Jferen^e aod direction. • 

He dpes^ not ftppear^^ j^owever, |o \^ye .given ^ore tb^n 

one cpqrse of tbpse lectures before be tooK^ ^econd jpyr- 

ney tp the Ea^t, f long with Mr* Jpbn 6rp?tvps, and this by 

. tbe arcbbisbop's epcomf^en^nt, who was still bent on 

prppuriqg OA^yseripts, a^d wppld not Ipse, the advantage 

of sucb ageptjE^. The arc^bbisbop also allowed him the pro- 

. . fius of bis professorship to defray bis e^pences, besides which 

,\ Mr. Pocopk ^^oyed hi^ fellowship of ippr|ius, and ba4 a 

. ^mall ^^t^ hj the d^ath of bis ^Uxpr. The whole annual 

I pjifpduce of t(\k^9e be is supposed tp have expended^ in diis 

expeditipn, Puring bis absence Ijilr. Thomas Greaves, with 

,the a^chbishpp's cpu^en^ supplied the Arabic lecture. On 

]^. Poppqk*s a^r^Kal at Cottstantinc^ple, the English am- 

.^ .bjiss^^dpT) ^^ir P^ter Wypbe, enteiitained him in his hpuse 

. as bif^ i^bf^plain, fnd pssisted him« by his interest, in the 

. gr;^at. pt^ject of bis jpumey. In pursuit of this he made 

. 9^f^^:f^^^^^ acc^uaintanqes among some learned Jews, 

...iP»rtMpjariy J[fico|>:fto|i^no, author of an. addition to Bpx- 



\ 



86 ? b c b c K. 

tdtPs " Biblioth'eca Rabbinica/* a man of great learnmff 
'and candour ; but his abfest assistant wks the learned and 
tinfortuhatb Cyril Lucdr, panriarch of Constantinople (see 
' LiJCAft), to whom we owfe that valuable MS. the ** Codex 
; AlexabdVinus ;** and Nath. Canoprus; who to avdid the fatfe 
'of bis blaster Ltkcar; came to England, and lived for some 
" time under the patronage of archbishop Laud, who gave 
"^ bim preferment in Christ church, from which be was 
' ejected in 164^. ' Ite derived some assistance also'froift bis 
'' fellow-labourer in th^ collection of books and M8S. Chris- 
tian Raviusy' biit especially from John Greaves, whose zeal 
"in this research' we have already noticed. ' 

At length about the beginning of 1640, Mri Pocock's 

y friends began to, solicit his return; the archbishop in a 

letter dated March 4 6f that year says, ** I am now goit^g 

to settle my Afabit; lecture for ever upon the university, 

and I would hive your name tb the deed, which is. the 

best honourt can do for the service/' Accordingly he 

embarked in August, but' did not relufii home entirely by 

sea, but through (jart of France and Italy. At Paris he 

wak introduced to many' of the learned men of the time, 

^'pai^ticularly td Gabriel Sionita, the celebrated Maroniie, 

] audi to Grotiujs, to whom he communicated a design he had 

' of translating his treatise " De Veritate** into Arabic, for 

the benefit of tUe Mitbometa'ns, many of wbom be believed 

were prepared for more light and knowledge than had yet 

been afforded them, l^ocock at the same time candidly told 

* Gfotius, who very much approved the desi^gh, that there 
'were some things towards the end of his book, which he 
'could not approve, viz. certaiir opinions, which, though 

' they are commonly in Europe charged on the followers of 

* Mahomet, have yet no foundation in any of their authentic 
^ writings, and are such as they are ready on all occasions to 
' disclaim. With this freedom Grotius was* so far from 

being displeased, that he beaVtily thanked Mr. Pocbck for 
' it, and gave him authority, in the version life intended, to 
' e^pun^e and alter whatsoever he should think fit. ' 

His journey home was attended with many melancholy 
circumstances. While at Paris, and on the rokd, helieardi 
of the commotions in England, and on iii^ arrival, be 
found his liberal patron, Laud, a prisoner in the Tower. 
Here he immediately visited the archbishop, and their in- 
terview was affecting on both sides. ' The archbishop 
*' thanked bim for the care he bad taken in execnting hia 



P D C C SU 87 

cominissioiit, aod for bis interesting correspondence while 
abrOiad, adding that it was no small aggravation of his pr^' 
sent misfortunes that be no longer h^d it in his power lo- 
' reward such important services to the cause 4t>f literature. 
]^Mr. Pocock then went to Oxford, to dissipate has grief^ 
' and in hopes of enjoying sooie tranquillity in a place 
^ which ha4 Dot yet becontie the scene of confusion ; arid 
] there he found that the archbishop had settled the Arabic 
pfGffessofship in perpetuity by a gf&nt of lands. He hch/r 
resumed his lecture, and his private studies. In iC4i he 
became acquainted with the celebrated Jcihn Seldeh, who 
was at this time preparing for the press, with no very libe* 
ral design, some part qf Eutychius's annals, iit Latin and 
Arabic, which he published the year following, under 
the title of ** Ori^nes Alexaudrinae," and 'Mr. Pocoek 
assisted him in collating and extracting from the Arabic 
books in Oxford. Selden^'s friendship was afterwards of 
' great importance to him, as be had considerable infiuen^e 
with the republican party. In 1642 Oxford becaiiie the 
[ seat of wair,' and was that of learning only in a secondary 
degree. Mr. Pocock was however ' removed from a coti« 
stant residence for some time, by the society^ of Cdr«A 
' pus Christi', who bestowed on him the vacant liyiBg of Cbil« 
' drey in Berkshire, about twelve miles frokd Oxford, which 
of course he could easily visit during term tiihe, when he 
was to read his lecture. As a pai^ish priest^ his biogVapber 
' informs iis, xthat *^ he set hidiself with bis utmost diligence 
to a conscientious performatice of all the ddties of his -cure, 
preaching twice' ev^ery Sunday ; ajnd his Sermons were so 
contrived by him, as to be most usefufto the {iersons who 
were to hear him. For though such as he preached in the 
university were very elaborate,^ and full of critical atid 
other learning"^ the discourises he delivered 'in his parish 
Were plain tmd "easy, having nothiri^ in them which be 
' conceived to be above the capacities even of the mean- 
est of his abditors. And as be cateftilly avoided all 
ostehtatioh of Icfarhidg^, 'so hb wodld not indulge 
himself in the practice of those arts, which at that 

*« Laliiii *ad ereti Qreefc fdrmed no tbey likdd hint? One of them mi- 

. VieoMt^eri^bh} p9tijt of theaennoBB of uwere6, ** Onr fc'anoa it one Mr. Po* 

< U>Qse days. , One of Mr. Popock's coqk, a plain,' honest man, hmty Mas- 

' firiends, as be ha^pet>ed to ^asif through ter, they say, h« is no Laiiner!" Life^ 

CSttdre?, asked eooie of the parish- by Twe^, p. 23. . / 
^ . KMien who waa their ainisterr and how ** 






r% 



is TP 6 C 6 C K. 

r 

^tiiii(e.;W«r^.Tfry. comxmUft and aiuch admired by ordini^^ 

, p^qpie; s\icl^9s. distortions of the countenance, and stit^u^e 

gf^ures^ ,a Tiplent. and unpat^ural way of speakingi i^nd 

jftffected words and, phrasesi^ which being out of the orcU* 

Inaixy way were therefore supposed to express somewhat 

i i^y oysJi^ciQus, and ia an high degree spiritual, ^is 

. conyerfiaUou too, was one continued sennou, powerfully r^- 

comioendijig to all, who were acquainted with him, th^ 

. seferal duties of Christianity." 

r But ail this^ found no protection against the viojence of 
. di4Q Uoa^. Immediately after the execution of archbishop 
L^udi the profits of his professorship were seized by the 
. i90qji}estratQrB| as part oC t|iat pr^elajDe^a estate^ although Mr*. 
Pocock^. in ft letter to theses jsiegu^stmtOFs, endeavoured to 
«bew the utility of this foundation, to thq interests pf learn- 
ing, and hi^ owji rigjbt. to. the settlement of ^be founder^ 
which was .made with all ibe forms of la^«. This for souie 
. time had^po e£Sect. but at last men werq found ^ven in. those 
, days wbo.wfu'e chained of such a proci^eding, and bad ti^e 
. qourage to. expose its cruelty a]p4 absurdii;y ; and in 1647 
. the salary of the lecture was. restored, by the interppsitipa 
. of Selden^ who had considerable int^res/t wit;l;i the usurpers. 
, Dr. Qerard'Langbaine also^ the proyost of Queen's college, 
. drew up a long instrument ia Latin,, stating the Wal 
course tak^n by the, archbishop iq tbe foundation of tpe 
r Arabic lecture, and the grant, the uniFersity had made to 
-^ JAi. PoQQck of its profits. Thb fae^ and some others pro- 
9>osf$c) in congregation, and the seal of the university was 
. affile ed to it widi unanimous, ponsent. .About the saibe 
/ ' lime, Mr. Pocock obtained a pnotficfcion jfroo^ the hapd and 

^ Ileal of general Fairfaz,^ agsdnsjb tb(S outrage pf the spldiery^^ 
who would else bave: plupderiqd his jbaus^ without m^rcy^ 

In 1648, on the recommendation of I>r. Sheldon and 
Dr. Hammond, be was nomiua^d Hebrew projfessor^. w^th 
the canonry of Christ church, annexed* bj the king, then a 
prisoner in the Isle of Wight, and. YfM soon, after voted 
ii^to the same lecture by t|)e Committee of Parliament, 
but a different canonry being assigned him than that which 
had been annexed to tbeprofessorsbip^be entered a protest 
against it, that it might not become a precedent, and pre- 
judice bis successors. In tbe interirp be found leisure and. 
composure to publish at Oxford, in the latter end of 1649, 
his very learned work entitled f Specimen Histprise Ara- 
bum.'* This contains a short discourse Jn Arabic, witb 



Ibis Latin translation, and large atid very useful ndtelr. 
Tbe discourse itself is taken out of the general History y>f 
-Gregory Abplfaragius, being his introduction to bis hii^th 
dynjBsty (for into ten dynasties that author divided tes 
work), where beins aj6out to treat of the empire of the Sa«»« 
racens or Arabians, be gives a compendious account of that 

'people before Mahom'et ; as also of that impostor hiii^sel4 
and the new religion introduced by him, and of the sev^i- 
;pal sects into which it was divided. And Mr. Fbcoc'Ifs 
Notes on this Discour-ie area colliection of a great variety 
of things relating to those matters out of more than/ an 
hundred Arabic manuscripts, a catalogue of which be adds 
in the end of bis book. 

In November 1650,' about a year after publifihirig the 
preceding work, he wns -ejected ff'om his canonry of Christ 

. church for refusing to. take the engagement, and so bn after 
a vote passed for depiHving him of the HebreW an i Arabic 
lectures ; but npon a petition from the heads' of houses at 
Oxford, the ras^ters, scholars, &c. two only of the whbie 
number of stibscriber& being loyalists, this vole wa^ reversed, 
and he was suffered to enjoy both places, and took iodg- 
iogs, when at Oxfbr 3l, in Baliol college. ' In 1 655 a more 
ridiculous instance of persecution wa^ intendec'i, and would 
have been indicted, if there had'no^c yet beeu some sehse 
and spirit left even among those \rha had (Contributed to 
Ibriiig on such calainities. It appeaSrs tha.t some of bis 
parishioners had pnj^ehted an inibrmation against him to 
the comcnissioiiers a ppointed by Tparlidinen'c *^ for ejecting 
ignorant, scaiidalousi^ insufficient^ apd negligent ministers.^* 
But the connection of the name' of PococJil with such epi- 
thets was loo gross ''to he endured,, and, vv/e are told, filled 
several , men of gn^at fame a'nd^mihence at that time at 
Oxford with indig^Bation, in coir'sequeh'ce of which they 

. resolved to go to t be place whe/e the c i>mmissioners were 
to meet, and exposltulate with th'em'abo iit it. In the num- 
ber of those who! went, were Dr, Se;th Ward, Dr. J6hn 
Wilkins, Dr. Johnj. Wallis, an/l Dr. John Owen, who all 
laboured with mur'li eaniestnes^^s to ccmvince those men of 
the Strang absuriflity of what they were undertaking ; par- 
ticularly Dr.. Oweln, who eti'deavouredS. with some warmth 
to make them scjsnsible of the infinite contempt and re- 
proach, which wjould certainly fall u^on them, when it 

, should be said, t jlMtt they Tnad turned out a man for insuffi^ 
eienty, whom nl I the jermted, not' of England only, bui 



so P O C O C K- 

of all/Earope^ so justly admired for his vast knowledge 
and .extraorditiary. accomplistinients. And being biin^f 
iHie of the commissioners appointed by the act, be addedy 
that he was now come to deliver himself, as well as h^ 
c^uld^ from a share in such disgrace, by protesting against 
a proceeding so strangely foolbh and unjust. The com- 
missioners being very much mortified at the remonstrances 
lof so many eminent men, especially of Dr. Owen, in whom 
they had a particular confidence, thought it best to extri- 
cate themselves froin their dilemma, by discharging Mr. 
IV>cock from ady farther attendancp. And indeed he bad 
been sufficiently tired with it; pis persecution, which 
lasted (or many months, being the most grievous to him of 
, all be hud undergone. It made hi|ii, as.he declared to the 
work! some time after, in the peeface to the ^Annates 
EutjxhiaVise,** utterly incapable ofi study, it being impos- 
sible for bim, when he attempte(| it, duly to remember 
what \\e had to do, or to apply bisiself to it with any at- 
tention^* • 

In the setne year (1655) Mr^ Pocoqk published bis 
'^ Porta mosisi,'* being six prefatory discourses of Moses 
Maimonides, which in the original were Arabic, expressed 
in Hebrew characters, together with his own Latin transla- 
lion of thiim, aivd a very large appiendix of miscellaneous 
notes. This was. the first producticm of the Hebrew press 
at' Oxford from types procured, at the charge of the uni- 
versity, and by tbe influence of Dr. Lahgbaine.. In the 
year following, Mr. Pocock appencs to have entertained 
some thoughts of piiblishing the liabbi Tanchum^s expo- 
sitions on the Old Testament. H e was at this time the 
only person m Europe who possess ed any of the MSS. of 
this learned rstbbi ; bot probably fn )m want of due encou- 
ragement, he did not prosecute tliis design. The MSS. 
^are now in the Bodleiaiy. In 1657 the celebrated English 
Polyglot appeared, in which Mr. Pccock, as was natural to 
expect, had a considerable hand. I^ndeed the moment be 
heard of tbe design he entered into a correspondence .with 
Dr. Walton, and, although his own e ngagements were very 
urgent, agreed to collate the Arabic *. pentateucb, and also 
drew up a preface concernit^g the A rabic versions of that 
pajt of tbe Bible, and the reason oi F the various readings 
in them. This preface, with the various readings, are 
published in the appendix to the P< )Iygl6t> tie was per- 
.haps yet more serviceable by coutribi iting the use of some 



P O C O K. 91 

9e«y vfthiftUe MS8. from his own colleptton, *vis« the go^* 
peb in Persian, his S^yriac MSt of the whole Old Test^- 
menty and two other Syriap MSS. Of the Psalms, and an 

. Etbiopic MS. of the same* 

: In 1658, Mr, Poeock*s translation of the annab of Eu- 
tjrcbioa, from Arabic into Latin, was published at Oxford, 

' in 2 vob. 4tOi This was undertaken by Mr. Pocock at the 
request of Seldeti^ who bore t|jia whole expeoces of the 
printing, 41 though^ he died before it appeared, He hf d 

; Ibi^ before this, in 1642, published an extracjt which he 

*. thought inimical to episcopacy, but which waa afiterwar4s 
proved to be a mere fable; and now Mr. Pocock, in his 

. cranslatton of the whole, farther proves how little reliance 
was to he plaeed on many of Eutychius's assertions. . Sel- 

. 4en^ in a eddicil to bis will, bequeathed the property of 

i the ^ Aimales Eutycbii'' to Dr. Langbaine and Mr. Po^ 

; cock; '•.'.. 

Ihe restoration ha{?ing been at last accomplislied, Mr. 
Po<;oGk was, in June 1660, replaced in his caqonry of 
Christ church, as originally annexed. to the Hebrew pro- 
fessorship by Cbarles I. and on Sept. 20 took his degree 

. of 'OL D. : In tbe sameyear he was enabled by the Ube- 

' imlity of Ml*. Boyle, to print his Arabic translation of Gro- 
tins on the Truth of the Christian religion, which, we have 

' abeady meoiioiied, he undertook with the full approbation^ 
of the author. His next publication, in 1661,, was an 

. Arabic poem entitled *^ LamiatoM Ajara, ot Carmen Abu 
IsDiaelis Tograi,'^ with his Latin translation of it, and large 
lk>tes upon it, with a preface by the lesurned Samuel 
Ctarke, architypographus to the university, who bad the 

. cat^ of tbe press, and contributed a treatise of his own on 

; the Arabic prosody. This poem. is held to be of the 
greatest elegance, answerable to the fame of its author, 

-^ who, as Dr. Pocock gives his character, was eminent for 

> learning apd virtue,, and esteemed. tbie Phcenix of the age 
in which he lived, for poetry and eloquence. The doctor's 

' design in |his work was, not only to give a specimen of Ara- 
bian poetry, but also to make the attainment of the Arabic 

: tongue mona ea^y to those who study it; and his notes, 
containing a grammatical explanation of all the words of 

• tbo Mthor, were unquestionably serviceable for promoting 
die knowledge of that language. These notes being the 
sum of many, lectures, which he rea^d on this poem, the 

'. apee^h| wUeh h^ delivered^ when enter'mg on his office^ 



'9« P O C O C K> 

is ptefixed to it, and contains a soccinct| but T^y aecinvtc 
account of the Arabic tongiie. ,1 

' in i663y Dr. Poicockpublisjied at Osferd) as wenotic84 
in our account of that author, the whcde of Gregory Abol* 
fiaragitts's ^' Historia DynkstiaruBi ;^' but thia work jivaa not 

' macii encouraged by the public, which his biographer, ae- 
coonts for in a manner not very creditable to the reign of 

' Charles II. compared to the state of solid learning diiring 

' tixat df the protectorate. The love cf Arabic learning, |^e 

' informs ns, was ' now growing cold, and Pocock, in his 
correspondence with Mr. 'Thomas Oreaves, seems vety 
sensible of, and mtich hurt by this declension of literary 
taste. This also, his biographer thinks may in some •inea* 

; sure account for our author's rising no higher in dmrcfa-pre- 
ferment at the restoration, when such nurabers^ of vacant 
dignities were ftUed. Perhaps^ adds^ Mr. T wells, "^ he is 
almost the only instance of a clergyman, then at the highest 

' pitch of eminence for learning, and every other merit pro- 
per to bis profession, who lived throughout the reign of 
Charles II; without the least regiird from the coart, ex- 
cept the favour sometimes done him of being ciJled upon 
to translate Aralric leUers from the princes of the Levant, 
or the credential letters of ambassadors coming £rom those 
p^rts ; for which yet we do not find he had any recoln- 

' pence besides good words and compliments. Bat he 
was modest, as be was deserving, and probably^ after his 
presenting AbnlfaragiuB to the king, he never put himself 
in the way of royal regards any more.*"^ 

This discouragement, however, did not abate, his aea( in 
the cause of 'biblical learning, to which he appears -to have 
devoted the remainder of his life, publishing in I- 677 bis 

" Commentary on the prophecy of Micah and Malachi, ia 
less on that of Hosea, and in 1691 that of Joel. In 1^74 
be bad published, at the expense of the university, his Ara- 
bic translation of church catechism and the English li- 
turgy, i. e. the morning and evening prayers^ the order of 
administering baptism andthe Lord^s supper^ and the- 39 
articles. It was supposed that he meant to bare com- 
mented upon some other of the lesser prophets^ >b|]t this 
was prevented by his^tleath on Sept. 10^ 169 1, after a gra- 
dual decay of some months, which, however, had not 'af- 
fected the vigour of* his mind. His useful life had been 
prolonged to his eigbty-sevenl^ year, during the greater 
part of which he was^ confessedly, the first OrieoUl scholar 



P O C O C K. «- 

Hi Eorope, and not less admired £ot the excellence df hie 
private character^ of which Mr. Twells has given aa ela«- 
borate account, and which k confiroied by the report of* 
aH his centemporaries,' bat particularly by a long letter 
from the celebrated Locke, dated Jaly 1703, to Mr. Saiiiki 
of Dartmoutli, who was then collecting materials, for a life 
of Dr. Pocock. 

In person be was of a middle stature, his hair and eyea 
black, bis complexion fair, and his look lively and cheer<* 
fol. In conversation he was free* open, and ingenuous; 
easily accessible and communicative to all who applied t» 
kirn for advice in hfs peculiar province. His temper waa 
unassuming, -bumble, and sincere, and bis intelleotuai 
lowers uniformly employed on the most .useful subjects. 
His memory was great, and afforded him suitable advaa^ 
tages in the study of the learned languages. He wrote bia 
own language With clearness aad perspicuity, which form 
his principal recommendation as an English writer^ hurt in 
his Liitin a considerable degree of elegance may be per« 
ceived. His whole conduct as a divine, as a man of piety^ 
and a minister of the church of England, was highly ex-* 
empiary. 

He was interred in one of the north ailes joining to Ae 
choir 6f the cathedral of Christ church, Oxford ; and a 
monument is erected to him on the north wall of the north 
isle of that chorcli, with the following inscription. *^ Ed^- 
wardus Pocock, S. T. D. (cujus si nomen audias, nil hie de * 
fttrnd, desideres) natus est Oxonias Nov. >6, ann. Dom. 1 604^ 
socliis in Collegium Corp. Christi cooptatus 1628, ini Lin- 
l^ute Arabicae Lecturam publice habeudam primus est in« 
stitutus 1636, deinde etiam in Hebraicam Frofessori Regie 
successit 1648. Desideratissimo Marito Sept. IQ, 1694^ 
in coelum reverso, Maeia Burdet, ex qu& novenam suscepii 
sobolem, tumulum hunc moerens posuit^'^ His Theologi^ 
cal works were republished at London in 1740, in 2 vols. 
foL by Mr. Leonard Twells, M. A. to which is prefixed a 
Life of the Author. Of this we have availed ourselires in 
the present sketch, but not without omitting many very 
curious particulars relating both to Dr. Pocock and to the 
history of his times,, which render Mr. Twells's work one of 
the most interesting biographical documents. Dr. Pocook^a 
life was first attempted by. the abt. Humphrey Smith, a 
Devonshire clergyman, who was assisted by tbe doctor*» 
eldest son, the rev. Edward Pocock, rector ef Minail in 



M p o c a c K. 

WHtshirei and prebendary of SaromJ Wbat tbey coklil 
collect was, after a long interval^ commkt^ to the care of 
the rev. Leonard TwelUi M. A. rector of: the united pa-» 
rishes of St Matthe^w's Friday-street, and St Peter Cfaeapy. 
and prebendary of St. I^turs, with the consent of the rev. 
John Pocb^k, the doctor*s grandson. The coiUteiits of these 
two volumes are the ^* Porta Mosis/* and his .English com— 
Hsentaries on Hosea, Joel^ Micab, and Malachi. , Thet Ara- 
bic types were supplied by the society for the .prompting' 
Christian knowiedge, ioi consequence of an application, 
made to them by tbe rev. Arthur Bedford, chaplain to th& 
Haberdashers* hospital, Hpxton. But what renders tbia 
edition peculiarly vsduabie is, that it, was corrected for tbe 
press by tbe rev. Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Tbomas HuDt, jooe of 
Dr. Pocock^s learned successors in the Arabic ebair.. ., 

Dr. Pocock bad married in 1646, while be was resident 
upon his living in Berkshire; ami bad nine children. We 
bave only an account of bia eldest son Edward Pocock^ 
who, under his father's direction, published, in 1 67 J, 4to, 
with a Latin translation, an Arabic work» entitled .^< Phi«^ 
losophus Autodidactus ; sive, Epistola Abu Jaafar Ebo 
Tophail de Hai Ebn Yokdhan. In qua ostenditur, quo-* 
mode ex inferiorum contemplaUone ad superiorum notiltam 
ratio humana ascendere possit'' In 1711, Simon Oeklejp 
published an English translation of thi3 book, under tbe 
title of ^* The Improvement of Hunaan Reason, exhibited 
in tbe Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan/' &c. 8vo ; and dedicated 
it to Mr. Pocock, then rector of Miiial in Wiltshire. Mn 
Pocock had also prepared an Arabic history, with a Latin 
version, aud put to it the press at Oxford ; but not being 
worked off when his father died, he withdrew it, upon a 
disgust at not succeeding his father in the Hebrew profea* 
aorship. The copy, as much of it as was printed, and the 
manuscript history, were, in 1740, in the hands of Mr» 
Pocock's son, then rector of Minal. * 

POCOCKE (Richard), D.D. who was distantly re- 
lated to the preceding, but added the .e to his name, was 
the son of Mr. Ricliard Pococke, sequestrator of the churck 
of All-satuts In Southampton, and bead master of tbe free- 
school there, by tbe only daughter of the rev. Mr. Isaac 
Milles, minister of Highcleer in Hampsbire, and was born 
at Southampton in 1704. He received bis school-learning 

1 life by Twells. 



P O C O C K E. 



9S 



there, and his academical educatibn at Corpus*Chrtsti col- ' 
HZ^j Oxford, where he took his degree of LL. B. May 5, 
1731 ; and that of LL. t). (being thfen precentor of Lis- * 
more) June 28, 1733 ; together ii^ith.Dr. Seeker, then rec- 
tor of St. James's, and afterwards archbishop of Canter- 
bary. He began his travels into the East ih 1737, and 
returned in 1742, and was made precentor of Waterford 
in 1744, In 1743', he published the first part of those ' 
travels, under the title of *< A Description of the East, ' 
and of some other Countries, vol. L Obsertrations on 
Egypt.** In 1744 he was made precentor of Waterford, 
and in 1745 he printed the second volume under the same 
title, ^* Observations on Palestine, or the Hoiy Land; 
Syria, Mesopotamia, Cyprus, and Candia,** which h^ de- 
dicated to the earl of Chesterfield, then made lohl-lieute- 
nant of Ireland ; attended his lordship thither as one of his 
domestic chaplains, and was soon after appointed by hi? ' 
lordship .archdeacon of Dublin. In March 1756, he was' 
promoted hy the duke of Devonshire (then lord-lieutenant)' 
to the bishopric of Ossory, vacint by the death of Dr.* 
Edward Maurice. He was translated by the king*s letter 
from Ossory to Elphin, in June 1765, bishop Gme of 
Elphiu biding then promoted to Meath ; but bishop Gore 
finding a great sum was to be paid to his predecessor*8 
execu'tors for the house at Ardbraceaii, declined taking ont^ 
hb patent; and therefore bishop Pocpcke, in July, w»« 
translated by the duke of Northumberltmd directly to the 
see of Meath, and died in the month of September the 
same year, suddenly, of an apoplectic stroke, while he wax . 
in the course of his visitation. An eulogium of his Descrip- 
tion of Egypt is given in a work eatitled " Pauli Ernesti 
Jablonski Pantheon ^gyptiorum, Praefat. ad part. Hi.^^ 
He penetrated no further up the Nile than to Phila, now 
Gieuret Ell Hiereff; whereas Mr. Norden, in' 1737, went 
as far as Derri, between the two cataracts. The two tra- 
vellers are supposed to have met on the Nile, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Esnay, in Jan. 1738. But the foct, as Dr. 
Pococke told some of his friends, was, that being on bis 
returt^, ,not knowing that Mr. Norden was gone up, he 
passed by him in the nighty without havirfg the pleasure of 
seeing him. There was an admirable vvh'ote length of the 
b&hop, in a Turkish idress, painted by Liotard, in the 
possession of the lat6f Dn Milles, dean 6f^Exeteiv Ws -first 
cousin. He was a great traveller, and visited other places 



9B 1> O C O C K «* 

besides tbe East His descriptioD of a rock on the west-* 
side of Dunbar harbour in Scotland, resembling tbe Giapts 
Causeway, is in the Pbilos. Trans, vol. LI I. art 17; and ia 
ArchsBologia^vol. II. p. 32, his account of some antiquities 
found in Ireland. Whefi travelling through Scotland 
(where be preached several times to crowded congrega- 
tioJis),'be stopped at Dingwal, and said he was much 
struck and pleased with its appearance ; for the situation 
of it brought Jerusalem to his remembrance, and h^ 
pointed out the bill which resembled Calvary. The same 
similitude was observed by him in regard to Dartmouth ; 
but a 4to volume of his letters^, containing his travels in 
England and Scotland, was tost. He pfeached a sermon 
in 1761 for the benefit of the Magdalen charity in Lon- 
don, and on&tn 1762 before tbe incorporated Society in 
Dublin. 

Among the MS treasures in the British Museum, ar^ 
Sfsveral volumes (4811 — 4827) the gift of bishop Pococke ; 
Tiz; *^ Minutes and Registers of the Philosophical Society 
of DubJin, from 1683 to 16S7, with a copy of the papers 
read before them ;^' and ^' Registers of the Philosophical 
Society of Dublin, from Aug. 14, 1707, with copies of 
some of these papers read before them ;^' also ^^ Several 
Extracts taken out of the Records in Birmingham's Tower ;^* 
^^An Account of the Franciscan Abbeys^ Houses, and 
Friaries, in Ireland," &c. &c. 

Mr. Cumberland, whose paintings are to be viewed with 
some caution, gives the following as characteristic sketches 
of bishop Pococke : ** That celebrated oriental traveller 
and author was a man of mild manners and primitive sim- 
plicity ; having given the world a full detail of his resear- 
ches in Egypt, he seemed to hold himself excused from 
saying any thing more about them, and observed in ge- 
neral an obdurate taciturnity. In his carriage and deport- 
ment he appeared to have contracted something of tbe^ 
Arab character, yet there was no austerity in his silence,' 
and though his air was solemn, his temper was serene. 
When we were on our road to Ireland, I saw from the 
windows of the inn at Daventry a cavalcade of horsemen 
approaching on a gentle trot, headed by an elderly chief 
in clerical attire, who was followed by iSve servants at dis- 
tances geometrically measured and most precisely inain-> 
taioed^ and who, upon entering the inn, proved to be^tbi^ 



k 



P O G G 1 O. *T 

difdagoishecl prelate, conducting bis:liord|p¥ith thepUeg** 
ffladc patience of a Scheik/* ' . - 

POGGIO (Bracciolini), one of the revivers of JUe** 
lature, was the spa of Guccio Bracciolini, and was born in 
h380y at Terranuora, a small town situated in the territory 
of the republic of Florenee, not far from Are2zo. He 
inherited from bis father who had been a notary, but had 
lost his property, no advantages of vank orfortune, yet 
ip a literary point of view, some circumstances of his birth 
were singularly propitious* At the dose of the fourteenth 
century, the dawn of literature was appearing^ and the 
city of Florence was distinguished by the zeal with which 
its principal inhabitants cultivated and patronized the libe- 
ral arts. It was consequently the favourite resort of the 
ablest scholars of the time ; some of whom were induced 
by the offer of considerable salaries, to undertake the task 
o{ public instruction. In this celebrated, school, Poggio 
applied himself to the study of the Latin tongue, under 
the direction of John of Ravenna; and of Greek, under 
Manuel Chrysoloras. When he had acquired a competent 
knowledge of these languages, 4i^ quitted Florence^ and went 
to Rome, ^here his literary reputation introduced him to 
the notice of pope Boniface IX. who took him into hjs ser«- 
vic.e^ and promoted him to the office of writer dP the apos^ 
tolic letters, probably about 1402. At this time Italy was 
convulsed by war and faction, and in that celebrated ec- 
clesiastical feud^ which is commonly distinguished by the 
name of the ^* schism of the West," no fewer than six of 
Poggio's patrons, the popes, were implicated in its pro- 
gress and consequences. In 1414 we find Poggio attending 
the infamous pope John to Constance, in quality of secre- 
tary; but as this pontiff fled from the council, his house- - 
bold was dbpersed, aqd Poggio reoMiined some time at 
Constance. Having a good deal of leisure, he employed 
bis vacant hours in studying the Hebrew language, under 
the direction of a Jew who bad been converted to the 
Christian fiitb. The first act of the council of Constance 
was the trial of pope John, who was convicted of the most 
atrocious vices incident to the vilest corrnption of human 
nature^ for^which they degraded him from his dignity, and^ 
deprived him- of his liberty. It was also by. this council 
that Jobti Huss^ the celebrated Bohemian reformer, was 

I NichiAi'i Bowjrer.— Cainb«rUn4'* Life*. ^ 

Vol. XXV. H . 



!rs P Q G G I O. 

examined and CAodemDed, and that Jerome of Pragne, in 
1416, was tried. Poggio^ who. was present at Jerome's 
trial, gave that very eloquent , apcoant . of the raartyr^s be^ 
]B»viour which we have already noticed (^ee Jerome of 
P&AGtJe), and which proves, in the opinion of Poggio's bio^^ 
grapber, that.he possessed a heart ^* which daily intercoorse 
with bigoted believers and licentious hypocrites could not 
deaden to the impulses of humanity/' 
. The vacancy in the pontifical throne still affording 
Poggio a considerable degree of leisure, he undertook, 
about this .time an expedition of no small importance to. 
the interests of literature, in quest of such ancient manu- 
scripts of classic authors as were scattered in, various mo*, 
nasteries and other repositories in the neighbourhood of. 
Constance, where they were in danger of perishing through 
neglect ; and in this he was successful beyond any indivi-* . 
dual of^ his time. Among other precious relics thus reco-. 
vered, was a complete xopy of Quintiliao ; part of the At". 
gonautics of Valerius Flaccus; Asconius Pedianus's Com*: 
ment on eight of Cicero's orations ; several of the orations 
of Cicero ; Silius Italicus; Lactantius ^^ de ira Dei ;" Ve-*. 
getius '^ de re militari;" Nonnius Marcellus ; Ammianus' 
Marcellinus; Lucretius; Columella; Tertgllian ; twelve 
of the comedies of Plautus ; and various other works, or 
parts of the works of the ancient classics, which are enu-. 
merated by his biographer. 

After the ecclesiastical feud had been iu some measure 
composed, Martin Vu became the new pontiff, but Poggio- 
did not :at first bold any office under him, as he visited 
England in consequence of an invitation which be had re«* 
ceived from Beaufort, bishop of Winchester He is said 
to have observed with chagrin the uncultivated state of the. 
public mind in Britain, . when compared with the enthu- 
siastic love of elegant literature, which polished and 
adorned his native country. Ehiring bis restdeace here be 
received an invitation to take the office of secretary :ta 
Martin V. which was the more readily accepted by him, as 
he is said to have been disappointed in the expectations ho; 
had formed from the bishop of Winchester.. The time of^ 
his arrival at Rome is not exactly ascertained ;. but it ap- 
pears that bis first care after bis re«»establisbment in. the 
sacred chancery, was to renew with his friends .the. per- 
sonal and epistolary communication which his long absence 
from Italy had interrupted. He now also resumed his pri- 
Tate studies, and in 1(^29 published his *^ Dialogue on Ava* 



t G G I 0. 9b 

ftels/* in wbicb he satirized, with greiit severity, the friMv 
U'ho were a bratieh of the order of the Franciscans, and 
who, on account of the extraordinary strictness with which 
tiiey professed to exercise their conventual discipline, were 
distinguished by the title of Fratres Observantia. f He in* 
veighs also against the monastic life with great freedom, 
but with a levity which renders it very questionable whe- 
ther any kind of religious life was much to his taste. Wheti 
Eugenius IV. was raised to the pontificate, his authority 
commenced with unhappy omens^ being engaged in quar- 
rels both in Italy and Germany ; and Poggio, foreseeing 
the disastrous event, wrote freely upon the subject to the 
cardinal Julian, the pope's legate^ that he might gain him 
over to his master's interest. In this letter were some 
smart strokes of satiric wit, which the disappointed and 
irritated mind of Julian could not well beaVi Poggio^s 
morals were not free from blame ; and the cardinal, in his 
answer reminds him of having children, which, he observes^ 
'* is inconsistent with the obligations of an ecclesiastic ; 
and by a mistress^ which is discreditable to the character 
of a layman/' To these reproaches Poggio replied in a 
letter replete with the keenest sarcasm. He pleaded guilty 
to the charge which had been exhibited against bim, and 
candidly confessed that he bad deviated from the paths of 
virtue, but excused himself by the common-place - argtH 
ment that many ecclesiastics had dofie the same. In 1433, 
when the pope was obliged to fly from Rome, Poggio was 
taken prisoner, and obliged to ransom himself by a large 
sum of money. He then repaired to Florence, where be 
attached himself to the celebrated Cosmo de Medici, and 
in consequence became involved in a quarrel with Francis 
Philelphos (See Philei.phu9), which was conducted with 
tntttual rancour. Poggio now purchased a villa at VaJ» 
d'amo, which be decorated with ancient sculpture and mo* 
mtments of art ; and such was the esteem in which he was 
Md by the republic of Florence, that he and his children 
were exempted from the payment of taxes. These children, - 
alt illegitimate, amounted to fourteen ; but in 1435, when 
be had attained his fifty-fifth year, he dismissed them and 
th^r mother without provision, and married a girl of 
eighteen yeam old. On this occasion he wrote a formal 
treatise on the propriety of an old man marrying a young 
girl t the treatise is lost, and would be of little consequence 
if recovered, since the question was not whether an 0I4 

H 2 



too - R O G G I 0. 

man should marry a young; girl^ Initi wbeU^r aq old. jaan 
should . discard bis allegitiiBate. off$|praig. to indulge. ;lKis 
sensuality under the foKm.of msarriagc. Ani bowever,^ men 
in years who marry so disproportionately are generaUy very 
ardeni lovers, be celebrates his young bride for her great 
,beauty, modesty, sense, &c« 

Whatever might be the.case with. bis moral, Poggio^s 
' literary reputation began about, this time to be extensively 
diffused^ jiud biavi^itiogs became an object oCfjrequeift in* 
. quiry- among the learaedy sooie of whom. /solicited him to 
• publish « collection >of bis epistles, from a perusal of which 
they had often devived gratificaiion« .This request could 
fiiot but be higbIyia|;reeableto bis feeliogs^^ ^ad be readily 
Uk^ the requisitie steps ip comply with it. This w^s. fol- 
lowed by a funeral oration in. honour of his friend Niccolo 
Niccoli. In 1440 he published : his *^ Dialogue. on. No- 
bility,'' aworkwbieb,^bis biographer says» greatly .increased 
bis reputation, by tbe^luminousness pf its jmetbod^ the ele- 
gance of its dictioB, and the learned references with which 
it was. interspersed. . This was: fi^owed by bisrdialqgue 
. ^^ On the uahappiness >of PoAces,'' in .which he .dwells with 
so much energy on . the. vices efr exahed rank,, aik to afford 
room foK saspicton, that.reseolment .and indignation b^d .at 
.least as mihcb influence in i%s .composition ^as the suggest 
tions of philosophy* ' However: the effiisiotvai'OfimerQsepess 
that'occur i« this idialogue.are interspei$ed wiih:precepts 
.of sound morality,, and the. historic details with which it 
abounds are both entertaining itnd instruciiv^e. 

Although Poggio.'held'the office of, apostolic, secretary 
under s^ven poiuiffs, he' bad uei^er reached any pf the sur 
perior depaitmenta of the .Roman; chaj^iceryy. But wheti 
Nicholas V. as^adled the.' p^^fical tbrope^ his' prospects 
were brigbtenedi;. and he indulged the hope4 o/^: :spenfling 
the remainder of his .daya in^ a. stale of ; independepce^ . if 
4)otof afflueflce. . With a view <of imfuroying his intereat 
with the new pontiff^ he addressed U> himax^ongratuUDory 
.oration, which was .i)ecQmpeose4 hy very liberal preseuts. 
This was succeeded: by asdedicatory epistjie, introducinf^ 
io bis patronage a dialogue f* On the Vicissitudes of. For- 
tune," the mostjnt^restipgiOf.Poggiota works,. ^d iocui- 
cating maxims of sublime philosophy, enfbroed by a detail 
of splendid. and. striking events* . Colifidiog io; the pontifi^ 
he also r published the dialogue ^^ On Hypocrisy," aUeady 
mentioned. At the request^ and under the patronage of 



P' O G G I 01 1^1 

Nidobs^ be abo contributed ta the illiistratfob id Grecian* 
Iteenture^i bjr n Lutin tranalaition of tbeWorks of iDiodoms' 
Skplii^rahii di6 if^':Oj^pop®dm*Mol Xenophon. Doring' 
tbe pligfiey '^i<3b raged ilk varioas parCrof italyi in 14i50y ' 
Boggio viiited thepiaee«af;hifr nativity ; and'flvailing him-* 
self of itfaris'i ntiervai of relaxation from -die. duties of- his 
offiee^-iier Umbiirficd his f*: Liber Facetiaruin^'? or collection 
of jmote tadesyi cODtaiaing anecdotes of several* eminent^ 
pevsoas^whO'(krumbed.during>the^foiirteenth and' fifteenth' 
csntwries/' fpbis nvorfc acquired « .considerable degree 'Of- 
popttlamyy'jaiNb<was.i9ead, oot only in tibe nativie country 
of its >auUsi}r^ ( but iuls^ in- Fntncei, Spain, Germany^ and 
Briisaii^,' very Ihtle* indeed to- the cv^dit of the readers, as it 
abounds wiih' gross and kbominsble indecencies. In 1451 
he dedicatisd to the cardinal 'Prospero Cotonna,. his «<<> His*' 
toria disceptativa convitxialis/' - In; I453» Pbggio was ete* 
vated lo tbexbaricelionibip^of Florence ^ and iat the same 
time be was ebesen one of the ^ Priori 'degliarti/* orpre- 
sideritsiof tbe trading i'Cbnipanies; both- which offices be 
held t&H his death, wfarch faafipenefl.Oelober SO, 1499.t 
Noti?dthffkanding ^tfae 0itflti{^il^ elf bis;^ hnsiness, and the 
advanites' of ige^' he pnisecuied bis studies, with his aocu8-^> 
tooied'arrddur^' lind published a dialdgue ^ De ndtserift hti* 
manor conditioiits;^'^ stnd a versioh'of'Lncian?s'^^' Ass/' with 
a view -of establisfaing^'a point of literary brstory^ which 
seems td kive been tSl tbat time unknown ;<> namely, that 
Apnieius was indebted to Liioia|¥ for the ^taiMne of his: 
^( Assnusaureus.'? liie last literary work in which ha en-* 
gaged, was bis '^.Hastorf of ' Fioveiit^e/' , divided into eight' 
books, *aiid comprehending the events in' which the Flo- 
rentines were concierned from 1950 to tbe peace of Naples > 
ip 1455^ This history was translated: into Italian by Jacopo,' 
the son of P<^gio^ 'but the original was puUished by Re- 
oanati, and has been- republished in ihO' collections of 
Graviusand Muratori. ' Poggio concluded ' his career in' 
tfae> 'possession of- universal respect^ and in the tranquil 
enjoyment of socj:^! and domestic comforts. His remains* 
were interred with solemn <magtiificience in the church of 
3intaCroce at Florence ; and his fdlow^citizena testified 
theiir respect for his talents and virtues, by erecting a sta- 
tu^ \i> bis memory ort the front of the church of Santa 
Maria del Fioife. As the citizen of a free state, >whtch he 
deemed a high honour, he improved every opportunity 
that oceacred for increasing and displaying the glory of the 



109 P O G G,I O, 

Tuscan republic. ' Although he was honoured by the fa« 
Tour of the great, he never sacrifieed his independence at 
tl^e shrine of power, but uniforfnly maintained the inge- 
nuous sentiments of freedom. Such was the state of mo<« 
rals in his time, that the licentiousness which dbgraced the 
eariy period of his life, and the indecent levity which oc- 
curs in some of bis writing^, did not deprive him of the coun- 
tenance of the greatest ecclesiastical dignitaries, or cause ty ra 
to forfeit the favour of the pious Eugenius, or of the moral 
and accomplished Nicolas V. To those with whom he 
maintained a personal intercourse, he recommended h]m«« 
self by the urbanity of his manners, the strength x>f his 
jiKlgment, and the sportiveness of his wit. <^ As a scholar^ 
Poggio is entitled to distinguished praise. By assiduoua 
study, 'ho' became a considerable proficient in the Greek 
language, and intimately conversant with the works of the 
Roman classic authors. In selecting, as his eiemplar in 
Latin composition, the style of Cicero, he manifested the 
discernment of true taste ; and his endeavours to imitate 
this exquisite model, were far from being unsuccessful. His 
diction is flowing, and bis periods are well balanced. But 
by the occasional admission of barbarous words and unau<« 
thoriaed phraseology, he reminds his readers that at the 
time when he wrote, the iron age of literature was but 
lately terminated. His striking fault is diffuseness — a dif*^ 
fnseness which seems to arise, not so much from the co-. 
piousness of his thoughts, as from the difficulty which he 
experienced in clearly expressing his ideas. It mustj how-> 
ever, be observed, that he did not, like many modern 
authors who are celebrated for their Latinity, slavishly 
confine himself to the compilation of centos from the works 
of the ancients. In the prosecution of his literary labours^ 
he drew from his own stores ; and those frequent allusiona 
to the customs and transactions of his own times, which 
render his writings so interesting, must, at a period when 
the Latin language<was just rescued from the grossest bar- 
barism, have rendered their composition peculiarly difficult. 
When compared with the works of his immediate predeces- 
sors, the writings of Pdggio are truly astonishing. Rising 
to a degree of elegance, to be sought for in vain in the 
rugged Latinity of Petrarca and Coluccio Salutati, he 
prepared the way for the correctness of Politian, and of 
the other eminent scholars whose gratitude has reflected, 
such splen^iid lustre on the character of. Lorenzo de; 
Medici." 



P O G G I O, 10$ 

The works jof Poggio were ()obU8bed together at Basils 
in 15S8, which is reckoned ibe most complete edition.^ 

' POILLY (Francis), a vei^ excellent French engraver^ 
-waS'bornat Abbeville in 1629| and bred under Pierre Du*- 
ret. • • He completed his knowledge of his art by aresidence 
of seven years at Rome ; and on his return to Paris, dis- 
tbguished himself by many capital works from pictures of 
aaored and profane history, and portraits of various sizes^ 
Loois XIV. made him his engraver in ordinary^ in 1664, 
expressly on account of his merit, and the works be haS 
pablisbed in Italy, as well as in France. He drew as skil- 
fully as be engraved. Precision of outline, boldness, firm- 
ness, and clearness, are the characteristics of bis plates ; 
and it is recorded to bis honour, that he never degraded 
his abilities by engraving any subject of an immoral kindi 
He died in 1693. His brother Nicolas, . who was alaoan 
able engraver, survived bim only three year^ ; and both 
left sons, who applied their talents to painting -and eu« 
graving.* 

POIRET. (Peter), famous only for his love of mysti** 
cism and entbnsiasm, and for his writings conformable to 
those sentiments, was bom at Metz, April 15, 1646, and 
edncated at Basle in Switzerland, in the college of £ra&« 
mns. His father, who was a sword^cutler, placed him a& 
pupil to a sculptor, and from bim he learned .design at 
least, and^etaioedso niQch of theart as to draw the por^^. 
trait of his favourite, madame Bouriguon. This pursuit^ 
however, he forsook for the learned languages, philoso'^ 
phy, and theology. He became a minister at Heidelberg 
in 1668, and at Anweil obtained a similar situation in 
1674. Here it was that he met with die works of the mys- 
tical writers, with which, particularly with those of madacbe 
Bdurignon, he became to the utmost infatuated. Madame 
Guyon was another of his favourites, and he idetermined 
to live according to their maxims. Towards the end of 
life be retired to Reinsberg in Holland, where he died,' 
May SP, 1719, at the age of seventy-three. .His. worker 
ate all 6f the mystical kind: 1. ** Cogitationes rationalesi 
de Deo,'* Amst 1677, 4to 5 twice reprinted. 2. '* L'ceco«> 

1 It it amiecMsary to «dd any other reference than to Sbepkerd's elegant and 
elaborate life of Poggio, published in ia02, and which is at the same time an 
eicellent historical illustration of a very interesting period in the revival of lite- 
ratare. .••«.* 

* Moreri.*-Struti' Dictionary. 



10* POIRE T. 

liomie Divide/' 168 1, in 7 vols. 8vo» iii wbicb all tbe 
notibns of Boiirignon are repeated. 3. '< La Paix de# 
bonnes Ames/' Amst 1687, 12mo. 4. << Leg Princqoes 
solides de la Religion Chretienne/' 1705, 12aio. 5. ^^The« 
ologie dn Gdbar,'' Cologne, 1697, t vols; ISniOi 6. He 
publiBbed als6 a complete edition of tbe works of madatise 
jBourignon, in twentjr^oDe volumes, octavo,- witb a life of 
that pious enthusiast. 7. Ad attempt to attacfk Descartes^ 
in a treatise ^^ de Eruditiope triplici,** in 2 vols. 4to, re- 
printed at Amsterdan^ in 1707.. Tbis beii^ directed 
ajgainst Descartes, bas been compared to tb^ attack of tbe 
viper upon the 61e. It contains, however, some good ob* 
servattons. ^ 

POIS, orPISO (Nicholas- L£), an emfnentpbysidai^^ 
was bom at Nancy, in 1527. He studied medicine at 
Paris under Sylvius, together witb his elder brother, An- 
thony Lepois, who was afterwards fint, physician to Charles 
III. duke 6{ Lorraine, and author of a valuable work oa 
ancient coins. Nicholas succeeded him as tbe duke*8 phy* 
sician in 1578. TThi result of his/practice, and of bis 
very extensive reading, was at first dmwn up only for tbe 
use of bis sons,: Christian andtCbirles^ wbofla he destined 
for tbe medical profession jbutbeiDgpnevailed on to publish 
kf it was printed at Francfort, in rl580, in foUo, under 
the title of <f De cognoscendis et curandis prtsoipud inter* 
nis bumani corporis morbie, Libri tnes, ex clarissimorum 
medicorum, turn veterum^ turn leoeptiorum, monmnentia 
non itapridem coUecti." Boe^basve iiad so bigb an i^i^ 
nion of this author, that he edited. thi9 woi4c> adding a 
pre&ce to it, at Leydeb, .1736, in two voluases, quarto; 
and it was again reprinted at Leipaic in 1766, 2 vols. 8vou 
Tbe time of his death bas not been recorded.' 

POIS (CHAR1.BS le), son of the preceding, was born at 
Kancy in 1563, and educated at the college of Navarre^ 
at Paris, where be distinguished himself by bis rapid ad* 
vancement in tbe knowledge of the languages, belles let- 
tres, and philosophy. He ceceived tbe degree of M. A. 
in the university of Paris: in 1581, and immediEately 
commenced his career in tbe schoob of medicine, * whicb 
he pursued at Paris, Padua, and other schools of Italy. 
When be returned to Paris in 1588 he took his bachelor^a 

1 Niceron, toIs. IV. and X. — ^Mosheim.— Bracker. 
* £loy Diet. HiaU de Medicine, iu art. Le Pois* . 



P O I.a 1Q5 

^egteein anisidictae, aad became a licentiate; but.having 
already expended his little income on the previous parts 
of hki medical progresS| he waa obliged to leave Paris 
vitfaout having taken. tbed^ree of doctor. He then re» 
tuknedtahis native city, where duke Charles III. of Lor- 
raine appointed him bis coi;mulung physician, and Duke 
Henry -II. instituted a feculty of medicine at Pont-a* 
Mouss<Miy: and 1 nominated him. d^an and first professor* 
Being now.eiiaUed to take this, doctor's degree, be went 
toiParisfipr. that purpose; and,, on bis return, commenced 
the duties of his .pcofessorsl^ip. in November 1598, which 
be performed for many years with the highest reputa-; 
tion, and enjoyed very e&tensive practice until his death, 
which was occ^tioned' by the plague, at Nancy, whither 
he bad gone to administer relief to those afflicted by that 
disorder, in 1633. His principal publication is entitled 
^^ Selectiorum Observationum et Gonsiliorum de prxtet 
ritis^ baoteiius morbis, effectibusque - praeter naturam ab 
aqu^ aeu serosa cdluvie et deluvie ortis^ Lib^r singut 
Iari%'' Pont-^*Mousson, 1618, in quarto. This work 
passed through sevej^ subsequent editions, one of which, 
(that of Leyden 17 S3), was published,, with a preface, by 
the celebrated Boerbaave. A selection from, or an abridg-i 
ment of it, was also printed in 1639, with the title of 
^ Piso enucleatus,'* in 12mo. His. other works were, 
^'Phystcnm Comet«8e Speculilm/' Ponte ad Montionem, 
1619, in 8vo ; and ^ Discours . de la Nature, Causes, et; 
Bemedes,' tant ouratifs que preservatifs, des maladies po^ 
pulaires, accoinpagn^es de Dysenteirie et autres Flux de 
Ventre,*' ibid. 1^23, in 12nu>. He translated from the 
Spaittab -into Latin, ^' Ludovici Mercati In&titutiones ad 
usum et €f^Amen eorum qui artem luxatoriam exercent,^ 
Franief^t, 1625; in folio. He likewisje published the foU 
lowii^ealogyof his first patron : ^^Carolilll., Serenissimi, 
Potentissimiqite DuCis Lotbaringiae, &c., Macarismos, seu 
felieitatis et virtntum egregio Principe dignarum coronas,'' 

leeo.* 

. POISSON (Nicholas Joseph), a native of Paris, and 
learned prtQSt of the Oratory, was esteemed well acquainted 
with philosophy, mathematics, and divinity. He made a 
considerable stay in Italy, where he acquired, the respect 

* . I , » 

• V 

1 Eloy Diet. Hist. Ue Medecine, in art. Le Pois. — Chaufepie.— Ueet's cyblo- 
pedia. 



106 P O I S S O N. 

of the iitersLtiy and was aometiine superior of bis'congre-^ 
gation at Verrddme. He died in ao advanced age aC 
Lyons, May 5, 1710. His works are, a Summary of the 
Councils, printed at Lyons 1706, in two volumes, folio^ 
under the title *^ Delectus actorum Ecctesis univ^Balisy 
s^u novaSummaConciliorum," &c. The second volume is 
nearly half filled with notes on the councils, and valuable 
remarks on the method, mechanics, and music of Des- 
cartes, who was his friend, He*^left also some manuscripts.. 
It is said, that he was in possession of several pieces by 
Clemangis and Theophylact, which have never beea 
printed. * 

POISSONNIER (Peter Isaac), a celebrated French 
physician, was born at Dijon, July 5, 1720. After study* 
ing medicine, he succeeded M. Dubois in 1746 as profes* 
sor of physic in the college de France. He was one of the 
first who gave a course of chemical lectures in Paris. In 
,1767 iie was appointed first physician to ihe French arrny^ 
and the year following went to Russia to attend the em- 
press Elizabeth in her illness. He remained two years in 
Russia, and assisted at the famous experiment relative tQ 
the (Congelation of quicksilver, of which he afterwards gave. 
an account (inserted in their memoirs), to the Academy of 
sciences at Paris, who 'had elected him a member. Soon 
after he returned to France he was promoted to the rank of 
counsellor of state ; and in 1764 was appointed inspector- 
general of physic, surgery, and pharmacy, in the ports and 
colonies of France. His ingenious method of procuring 
fresh froni sea-water, by distillation, procured him, in 1765, 
a pension of 12,000 livrcs a-year from the French govern- 
ment. In 1777, he resigned his chair at the college of 
France ; but^ in conformity to an unanimous vote of the 
professors, continued to preside at their public meetings 
as long as his health would permit. M. Lalande says, that 
he did honour to this office ^' by a grand and striking figure: 
by the dignity of his speech : the nobleness of his man- 
ner : and the deservedly high estimation in which he was 
held by the public." He was, during the reign of terror, 
imprisoned, with his whole family, by Robespierre; but 
was liberated on the death of that monster. He died in 
September 1797 or 179S. He is said to have left behind 
him a very valuable collection' of natural history, medals, 

* 

1 Moreri. — ^Dict. Hiit. 



POLE. 107 

and other curiosities. He wrote several treatises belong* 
itig to his profession, viz. on the fever of St. Doipingo, 
Ibe diseases of seamen, an abridgment of anatomy, &c.' 

POLE, or POOL (Reginald), an eminent cardinal, and 
archbishop of Canterbury, was descended from the blood- 
royal of England, being a younger son of sir Richard Pole, 
K.Gi and eousin-german to Henry VIL by Margaret, dau^- 
^r of George duke of Clarence, younger brother to king 
Edward IV. He was born at Stoverton, or Stourton castle, 
in Staffordshire, . in 1 500, and educated at 6rst in the Car* 
thusian monastery at Sheen, near Richmond, in Surrey, 
whence, at the early age of twelve, he was removed to 
Magdalen-college^ Oxford, and there assisted in his stu- 
dies by Linacre and William Latimer. In June 1515, he 
took the degree of B. A. and soon after entered into dea« 
coii^s orders. Without doubting his proficiency in bis 
studies, it may be supposed that this rapid progress in 
academical honours was owing to his family interest and 
pretensions. Among the popish states abroad it was not 
vncommon to admit boys of iioble families to a rank in 
the universities or the church, long before the statutable 
4>T cunonical periods. One object for such hs^sty prefer- 
ment was, that they might be entitled to hold lucrative 
benefices, and the rank of their family thus supported : 
and accordingly, in March 1517, we find that Pole was 
ismcle prebendary of Roscombe, in. the church of Salisbury, 
to which were added, before he hud reached his nineteenth 
year, the deaneries of Winbourne Minster, and Exeter. 
For all these be was doubtless indebted to his relation 
Henry YIU. who intended him for the highest dignities of 
the church. 

Having now acquired perhaps as much learning as his 
country at that time afforded, he was desirous of visiting 
the most celebrated universities abroad, to complete his 
education, and being provided by the king with a pension, 
in addition to the profits of his preferments, he fixed bis 
residence for some time at Padua, where he hired a house 
and kept an establishment suitable to his rank. • The pro- 
fessors at Padua were at this time men of high reputation, 
and were not a little pleased with the opportunity of form- 
ing the mind of one who was the kinsman and favourite of 
a great king, and might hereafter have it in his power 

1 Diet. Hi8t.-^ent Mag. 1799. 



lOS POLE. 

amply to reward tbeir labours ; and gome of tbem ereir 
' now partook nobly of bis bounty^ befng maintained by hiin 
in bi» bouse. Here commenced his acquaintance' witb 
Bembo, Sadolet, and Longdios, wbich lasted the remainder 
of their lives, and here also his acquaintance took its ri^e 
with Erasmus, who had received from -his friend Lupset a 
very favourable representation of Pole. He therefore en-^ 
lered into an epistolary correspondence with bim^ which* 
be began by recoaimendiog to his favour the afterwards 
welUknown John A Lasco. (See Alasco, vol. L p. 292.) 
Besides the aid which Pole received in his studies from 
LongoKus and Lupset, who is said to have been enter- 
tained by him in his own family, he paidmvch attention 
XOh the lectures of Leonicus, an eminent Greek s<;holar9' 
who taught Pole to relish the writings of Aristotle and 
Plato in the original. While Pole continued at Padua^ 
Longtnus died in 1522, and such was the regard Pole 
bad for him that he wrote bis life, which Dr. Neve thinkar 
was not only the first but the best^ Specimen he gave the' 
public of his abilities. It was the production, however, 
of a young man who could not have known LongoKus 
above two years, and he has therefore fallen into some mis- 
takes. (See LONflUEiL.) * 

Pole bad acquired a considerable degpree of reputation 
in Italy, which made his mother, now count6S8 of Salis* 
bury, and other friends, desirous of his return, that the 
same display of his talents might sanction the honours in-' 
tei^ded for him ; and it was bis design to set out for Eng* 
land in 1525; but being desirous of seeing the jubilee, 
which was celebrated thi» year at Rome, be resolved to 
visit that city first. On his journey to Borne he was, we 
are told, every where received with great respect ; but at 
Rome he contented himself with viewing what was> moat 
ciirious, without appearing at the papal court. On his 
arrival in England, he was welcomed with great respect by* 
the royal family, and by the publie at large, which he seems 
to have merited by his elegant artd accomplished manners, 
as well as- the proficiency he had i^ade in learning. That 
learning was still his favourite pursuit appears from his 

* In F«broary 1523-4, he was cho*' Fo< the founder^ although it ia boI cer- 

sen a fellow of Corpus Chrisii college, tain that he ever took possession, and 

Oxford, ^according to a note in Wood's most probable that he did not. Fuller 

Colleges and Halls, p. 390. This ap> says, without giving his authority, thait 

pears to have been done by bishop he was br€d at Corpus, 



P O L iE. 109 

requesting from the king a grant of the house dean Colet 
liad built in the Carthusian monastery,^ where be had first 
been educated, and where he now devoted bimieif to study 
for about two years. 

The affair of king Henry's divorce drew Pole from hit 
retirement, and led to the singular viciasitades of his life. 
This was a measure which he greatly disapproved, but he 
is said to have had some reasons for his disapprobation^ 
different from what conscience, or his religious principles, 
might fairly have suggested. Notwithstanding his being 
an ecclesiastic, we are told that he had entertained hopes 
of espousing the princess Mary, and that this project was 
even favoured by queen Catherine, who had committed 
ihe care of the princess's education to the counteM of 
Salisbury, Pole's mother. Whatever may be in this sus- 
'picion, which prevailed for many years, it appears that 
he wished to be out of the way while the matter was in agi« 
tation, and therefore obtained leave from the king to ga 
to the university of Paris, under pretence of continuing 
his theological studies. Accordingly he spent a year at 
Paris, from Oct. 1529 to Oct. 15;50, during which time 
the king having determined to consult the universities of 
Europe respecting the divorce, sent to Pole to solicit hi« 
cause at Paris. Pole, however, excused himself on ac-» 
couQt of his want of experience, and when Henry sent over 
Bellay, as joint commissioner, left the whole business^ to 
^is coadjutor, and returning to England, went again to 
his favourite retirement at Sheen. Here lie drew up bis 
reasons for disapproving of the divorce, which were shown 
to the king, who prob^iy put them into Cranmer's hands; 
Cranmer praised the wit and argument employed^ and 
chteGly objected to committing the cause to the decision of 
the pope, which Pole had recommended. Pole's consent 
tothq measure, however,, appears* to have been a favourite 
object with the king; and therefore in 1531, the arch^ 
bishopric of York was offered him on condition that he 
would not oppose the divorce ; but be refused this dignity 
on such terms, after a sharp contention, as he says in bis 
epistle to king Edward, between his ambition and his con- 
science. He. is said also to have given his opinion "on this 
subject so very freely tlo. the king, that he dismissed him 
in;grea^j»ngef front bis presence, and never sent for him 
more.! 
Pole now resolved to leave the kingdom, from a dread 



no POL E. 

of Henry's revengeful temper^ who, hoii^ever, ' at first Ue» 
haved rather better than might have been expected; for 
be not only permitted Pole to go abroad, but continued 
the pension which had been before granted, and which, had 
always been teguiarty paid. Pole then passed a year at 
the university of Avignon in France, the air of which place 
disagreeing with him, he went in 1532 to Pad«ia. Here 
be divided his time between that city and Venice, apply-^^ 
ing diligently to theological studies, and was respected, as 
be was before, by the learned of Italy. After he had been 
a considerable time abroad, hrs capricious relative, Henry 
Vlll. solicited his return, but Pole, after many excuses^, 
plainly told his majesty that he neither approved his di^ 
vorce, nor his separation from the church of Rome. Th^ 
king then sent him Dr. Sampsoa^s book in defence of the 
proceedings in England, on which Pole embodied his folt 
opinion on these proceedings, in his treatise entitled ^* De 
unitate ecclesiastica.*' Burnet and other protestant histo-^ 
rians very naturally censure this work as. devoid of sound 
argument, and Phillips and other popish writers have as 
highly praised it; but all must agree that in coarseness of 
invective it does not comport with the urbanity of style 
and manner hitherto attributed to Pole. Pole in fact 
seems to have written it as much in contempt of Henry, as 
with a view to convince him ; and therefore, when Henry 
renewed his solicitations for bis return, that he might taUc 
all these matters over in an interview^ be not only refused, 
but added to that refusal such a repetition of irritating lan-« 
guage that no hope of reconciliation could be entertained. 
Henry therefore withdrew his pension, and stripped himr 
of his ecclesiastical preferments. 

About this time the pope, having resolved to call a ge-^ 
neral council for the reformation of the churcb^ summoned 
several learned men to Rome, for that purpose, and 
among these he summoned Pole to represent England* 
As soon as this was known in that country, his mother and 
other friends requested him not to obey the pope- s sumr-^ 
mons; and at first he was irresolute, but the importunities 
of his Italian friends prevailed, and he arrived at Rome in 
1536, where he was lodged in the pope*s palace, and 
treated with the utmost respect, being considered as one 
who might prove a very powerful agent in any future at- 
tempt to reduce his native land to the dominion of the 
pope. The |f)rojected scheme of reformation, in wliicb 



POLE. Ill 

Pole a$»i$te(]| came to liothini;; but a de»ign was nour 
fortned of advancing him to tbe purple,, to enable him the 
better to promote the interests of the papal see. To this 
be objected, and his objections certainly do him no dk« 
creda, as a zealous adherent to the order and discipline of 
bis cburcb. He was not. yet in holy orders, nor had re-» 
ceived even tbe clerical tonsure, notwithstanding tbe be^ 
^eftces which had been bestowed on. him ; and he repre-* 
sented to tbe pope, that such a dignity would at this junc« 
ture destroy all his influence in England, by subjecting 
bim to the imputation of being too much biassed to the in-» 
terest of the papal see ; and would also have a natural ten«* 
dency lo bring ruin on bis own family. He, therefore, 
iatreated his holiness to leave bim, at least for tbe present, 
where he was, adding other persuasives, with which the 
pope seemed satisfied ; but tbe very next day, whether in- ' 
dttced by tbe imperial emissaries, or of his own will, - he ' 
commanded Pole's icnniediate obedience, and he having 
submitted to tbe. tonsure, was created cardinal-deacon of 
S* Nereus and Achilleus, on Dec. 22, 1536. Soon after 
be was also appointed legate, and received orders to de^ 
part immediately for the coasts of France and Flanders, to 
keep up tbe spirit of the popish party in England ; and he 
had at tbe same time letters from .the pope to the English 
nation, or rather the English catholics, the French king, 
the king of Scotland, and . to the emperor's sister, who was 
regent of the Low Countries. Pole undertook this cam- 
mission with great readiness, and whether from ambition 
or bigotry, consented to be a traitor to bis country. In 
the beginning of Lent 1537, he set out from Rome, along 
with his particular friend, the bishop, of Verona, and a 
handsome retinue. His first destination was to France, 
and there he received his first clieck, for on the very day 
of his arrival at Paris, the French king sent him word chat 
be could* neither admit him to treat of the business on 
wbidfi be came, nor allow him to make any stay in his do* 
minions. Pole now learnt that Henry VHI. \iaA pro* 
claimed hka a traitor, and set a price (60,000 crowns) on 
bis head* Pole then proceeded to Cambray, but there be 
met with tbe same. opposition, and, was not allowed to pur-* 
sue his j<H]rney. The cardinal bishop of .Liege,, howevec, 
invited bim, and liberally entertained bim in that city, 
wbere he remained three months, in hopes of more favour- 
able ^ccoiints fropi the emperQi* and the^ kingpf flrancej^ 



112 P O L E« 

but notbiiTg of this kind occurring, be:retiirii«d tcRoml 
after an expedition that had been sooiewrhat disgracefu- 
and totally unsuccessfuL In 1538 he again set out-on a 
similar design, with as little effect, and was now impeded 
by the necessary caution be was obliged to preserve fop 
fear of falling into the hands of «oine of Henry' 6* agents. 
In the mean time, he was not only himself attainted of 
high treason by the Parliament of England,' but bis eldest 
brother Henry Polf!^, lord Montague, tbemarquis of Exeter^ 
sir Edward Nevil, and sir Nicholas Carew, . were con* 
demned and executed for bigh> treason, which consisted in 
a conspiracy to raise cardinal Pole to the crown.- Sif 
Geoffrey Pole, another brother of the cardinal's, was con«rf 
demned on the same account, but pardoned in conse-^ 
quence of his giving information against the rest. Mar* 
garet, also, countess of Salisbury, tbe cardinal's mother^ 
was condemned, but not executed until two years after* 
Tbe cardinal now found how truly he had said to the pope 
that his being raised to that dignity would be the nin of 
his family ; but he appears to have at this time in a great 
measure subdued bis natural affection, as he received the 
account of his mother's death with great composure, con- 
soling himself with the consideration that she died a mar^ 
tyr to the catholic faith. When his secretary BeccatelK 
informed him of the news> and probably with much oon« 
cern, the cardinal said, *' Be of good courage, we have 
now one patron more added to those we already had in 
heaven." 

In 153^, when Pole returned to Rome, the pope thought 
it necessary to counteract the plots of Henry's etoissaries 
by appointing foim a guard for the security of his person. 
He likewise conferred on him the dignity of legate of Vt^ 
terb0| an office in which, while he maintained his charac- 
ter as an example of piety and a patron of learning, he is 
said to have shown great moderation and lenity towards 
the protestants. He was here at the head of a literary so-^ 
ciety, some of the members of which were suspected of a 
secret attachmeint to tbe doctrines of the reformation ; and 
Immanuel Tremellius, who was a known proiestant, was 
converted from Judaism to Christianity in Pole^s palace at 
Viterbo, where he was baptised, the cardinal and Flaoii*- 
nius being his godfathers. 

Pole continued at Viterbo till 1542, when tbe generid 
council for the reformation^f the church, which' had beea 



Toil. US 

h^g prdmueil abd iong delayed, was called at Trent, and 
is kooivn in ecdesiastical history as tbe famous ^* Council of 
Trent»" It did not, however, proceed to business until 
154a, when Polet went thither, with the necessary escort 
of a tfoop of borse^ For the proceedings of this extraor* 
dinary assembly, we must refer the reader to fiither Paul^a 
Jiistory. The principal circumstance worthy of notice re* 
^cting tbe cardinal was bis writing a treatise on tbe na^ 
tare and «nd of general councils, just.before he left Rome^ 
in which he proves himself the determined advocate for the 
boundless prerogative of the pope. He continued at Trent 
until a rheumatic disorder, which fell into one of his arms» 
obliged him to go to Padua for medical advice ; and after« 
wanis, the council being prorogued, he went to Rome at 
*lhe request of the pope, who wished to avail himself of hii 
pen in drawing up memorials and vindications of tbe pro* 
ceedings of the see of Rome ; and Pole^ a man of superiot 
talents to most of the Italian prelates, knew how to render 
these very persuasive, at a time when freedom of discus«> 
sion was not allowed. 

On the death of Henry VIII. in 1547, be endeavoured 
to renew his designs, in order, as bis partial historian says, 
f^ to repair the breaches which Henry had made in tbe 
ittth and discipline of the church." On this occasion he 
solicited the pope's assistance, and wrote to the privy«» 
cevmcil of England, partly soothing and partly threatening 
them with what tbe pope conld^do; but all this had no 
effect, and the members of tbe privy-council refused to 
receive either the letter or him who brought it. The car<> 
dinal also drew up a treatise, and inscribed it to Edward 
VL which contained an elaborate vindication of his con# 
doct towards tbe late king, but it does not appeac that it 
ever came into £dward's bands. Pole therefore remained 
^11 attainted, and was one of the few excepted in tbe acts 
of grace which passed at the accession of the young king. '■'. 

In 1549, our cardinal had the prospect of advancement 
to all of power and dignity which tbe church of Rome had 
to bestow^ the chair of St. Peter itself. On the death of 
pope Paul III. he was proposed in tbe conclave as bis ^uc«» 
cesser by pahlinal K&rnese, and tbe majority of votes ap** 
peared to be in bis favour, when an opposition was ex«^^ 
cited by the Fr«ach party, with cardinal Carafb at their 
head, who hoped^ if Pole . were set aside, to be choseoi 
hlm^fiU; It waa^ neoessaryi however, to show somd strong; 

VOL.XXV* I 



114 t O ls%. 

grouads for oyiporiiig canioiibl {ViKe ; ftinl tkoM, Irad thtf 
been |»roTedy were oertatnly stroog eoeagby heresjr and 
falcon diieney : ^lie had been lesAetA Sm the protestaou at 
Vkerboy mad be vms tke vepvted fadier d a young sirl, at 
4bis timeaiiuiL. : Bat agajnttiioth tbese cliarges fQ>Mi «in^ 
dicated himself in the flioat aatisfactovy maimer, and his 
party determined to elect Mm. Why they did not saecoedl 
is Fariously related^ It is said that they t»9n ao impatteii^ 
p9 hring the aiatter to a conclusion as to go lata at night 
to P^le^a bouse to pay their adorattoas to faimy according 
to custttia, asMl that Pole refiisad to accede to each a fash 
|Mid uoseasoDable proceeding, and requested they wooUl 
defer it notil inarniDg. They then letiffody but iauaedK^ 
ately after two of the candisala came again to him, and as«t 
•ored htm that they neqohred nothing of htm bat arbat waa 
usual ; apon which he gate hta oooaent, bat afterwards rei- 
pented, and endeayonred (to vetract. The eaixlioais, in the 
siean time^ of their xiwn aecord had deferred prooeeditiga 
until next morning, when a very different spirttappeared/it 
the conclave, and the election fell upon eafrdiaail de Moti«e^ 
ii4io ve^ed as pope by the name of Jaiiins UI. a man of 
whom it is su£5ieient to say that be gave his candtaal^s imlt 
to a boy who had the cane ef his racsdoey^ Wiien Pole ap* 
peaied, with abe oHher cavdinals, to perform his adoratioa 
to the new pQf)e, the latter raised bin up and easbiaeod 
ihim, telling hi■^ diat it was to bis disiatenestedness be 
owed the fKipacy. How £ar ear cardinal was really disin* 
terested, is a matter ef dispute. Sowe suppose tbitt ba- 
atili had in Tiew a .manriage with tlie princess Mary, and 
die hopes of a crown:; and at is oertaki that he had bkberto 
uever taken pnest's orders, that he might beat liberty to 
lietum to the secular world, Jwhiohhis being only a -cardinal 
would srot have opposed* 

^ The cardinal was at a eonveat of the Bona^otines at 
MagoaanOy in the territory of V-onioe, whither be had re^ 
tured when the tranquiliity of Eome was distorbed by the 
JRiench war, wiiea the 4mportQet news arrived of the ao* 
oession of the prinoess Mary to the thsene of £ng(aiid, bjr 
the dei^h of her brother Edward VJ. it was immediaii^ 
determined by the court of Rome that he dMuld be sent aa 
legate to ^ngbuid^ in evder to promote that object to 
wUch his fiuniiy bad been saori&eed, the redttottan of the 
kingdom to the obedience of the holy see. Pole^ how* 
ffer, who did not know that hja.attaijador ^ras taken eiff^ 



^ O L E. Hi 

t 

iMeffmUi^d t^fH to ^enii bU feoreiaifjr to Spgland to oag)cfi 
t)K9 QMeesary imqiiiri^H and to prei^^iH l^tlers to ib(? qui^fq^i 
irjio s^n dissipated bis fears by an aqnpi^ assufi^ncf} of )ie« 
aititacbinent io tba eatbolic oatiso* H^ tbea i^t o^^ ip Oct, 
14133, b«it in bis way through Gdrfnany, wfis ctetaiiie4 by 
^ emperor, wbo was ;then negoiQiaung a marrifgi^ be^ 
Iwaeir his soa Philip and tbe queen of £ngland> tp wb^c|4 
be imagiped the cardinal would be an ob^taicle. This de*' 
lay wae the asore mof tifying. as the emporor a< tk^ p^m% 
^me refused toadoiit Urn into bis presence^ although bf 
hfd haea eommissioned by the pope %q endeavour to fiiie;* 
dialte a peace between tbe emperor and the f^re^iob lf^if)g> 
8ot tbe gres^^ of all his mortifioations came ffon^ q^e/s^i 
Mary herself, who under various pretences, wbicb tbf <^^F-r 
dteal aa^ io their proper light, contrived ^o keep }^ 
^eed until bepr marriage with Philip was coneliidedf 
• All obatades being noiw reenoved, be prof^eedi^d hof^f^^ 
wards, and arrived at Dover, Nov, JO, 1554, wbere hf 
was seeeiviad by soane persons of rank, and reaqbii^g j^pn- 
doe, was welconaed by their majesties in ithe nip^t bi^Q^r-' 
ikble nMuiner. No time was now lo9i in endeavouring t^ 
promote the great objects of bis misiiion. Qn the 27tb of 
Herejonber, the candinal legate went to the House of Peer^i 
where tbe king and queen were present, and made a long 
apeeeb, in which be invited tbe parUaoaent to a reeonciliT 
ntjee with liie apostolie see : from whence, he aaid» b# 
was seot by the vcommoo pastor of Cbristendon^, to bri^g 
baak tjiieBi wbo bad long strayed from tbe inclosar^ of tbe 
churcfa; aiul two days after tbe Speaker repotted l^o jtb^ 
iioisse of Gofioaons the substance of this speech. Wbi^( 
IbUawod may be read witb a blush. Tbe !two 9o4^es ojf 
Partiametit agreed is. a petition to be reconciled to the ^^ 
of Q/Mse, which was presented to the king and qut^etv, and 
etoted, on the part of the parliament, that ^*wl\erea$ t)^ 
liad been guiky of a most horrible defeetf on and $cb^l9 
fmm the Apostolic see, they did now sincerely r^pen^ 5^ 
ft; and in sign of their repentance, were ready to irepevJ- 
all th^ laws ipade in prejudice of that see ; therefore, ^inof 
ihe king and queen bad been no way defiled by tb^ 
-schism, they prayed them to intercede wirth tb<^ legate \f 
4grant them abscdiutjan, and to ceceive th^ns again into i^he 
£osQin of the cboroby^* . This petition being pe^^Q^d kf 
jboih Houses on their knees to ibe king and q^ee«},v(b§if 
aoiajesties made their intiercessian witb tjm iega^e, wtbp> i> 

I 2 



1 16? 1^ 6 L E. 

ti long speech, thanked the parliament tbr repealing tb# 
act against binii and making him a member of the nation^ 
from which he was by that act cat oiF; in recompense of 
which, be was npw to reconcile them to the body of the^ 
ehurcb. After enjoining them, by way of penaoce, to 
repeal the laws which they had made against the Romisb 
religion, he granted them,, in the pope*s name, a fall- 
absolution, which they received on their knees; and bd 
also absolved the whole realm from all ecclesiastical cen^- 
•ore. But however gratifying to the court or parliament 
all this mummery might be, the citizens of London and 
(he people at large felt no interest in the favours which the 
pope's representative bestowed. In London, during one of 
his processions, no respect was paid to him, or to the croi^ 
carried before hini ; and so remiss were the people in otbev 
parts in their congratulations on the above joyful oceaaioiiy 
that the-qcieea was obliged to write circular letters to the 
•berif&^ compelling them to rejoice. r 

■ After the dissolution^ of parliament^ the first thing takenr 
into consideration was, in what manner to proceed against 
tlie heretics. Pole, as we have before noticed, had beea 
charged by some with favouring the protestants ; but h^ 
now expressed a great detestation^ of them, adding pro* 
bably something of personal resentment to his constitiitioiuil 
bigotry, and would not now converse with any who bad 
been of that party, except sir William Cecil. Since his 
arrival as legate, bis temper appeared to have undergone 
-an unpleasant alteration : he was reserved to all except 
priiili and Ormaneto, two Italians whoia he brought with 
him, and in whom he confided. Still for some time he 
recommended moderate measures with respect to heretics^ 
^bile Gardiner laboured to hasten the bloody persecution 
which followed; but, either oui*argued by Gardiner, or 
influenced by the court, we find that he granted commis-^ 
sions for the prosecution of heretics, as one of the first 
acts of his legantine authority. If in this he was persuaded 
4X>ntrary to his opinion and feelings, he must have been 
^fae most miserable of all men ; for the consequenees, it is 
well known, were such as no man of feeling eould contemn, 
-plate without horror. 

• In March 1555, pope Julius IILdiedy and in less than a 
tdonth, his successor Marcellus II. on which vacancy, the 
queen employed her interest in favour of cardfaial. Pole^ 
)»ut without ci&ct; nor was he more successful when 1iq& 



t» L E. 117 

^990at to Flanderathis year^ to negociate a peace between 
fiance and the emperor. To add to his disappointments^ 
the new,pope» Paul IV. had a predilection for Gardiner, 
and. favoured the views of the latter upon the see of Can^ 
terbury^ vacant, by the deposition of Cranmer ; nor al- 
though the queen nominated Pole to be archbishop, would 
the pope confirm it, till after the death of Gardiner. The 
day after Cranmer was burnt, March 22, 1556, Pole, who 
liow for the first time took priest^s orders, was consecrated 
archbishop of Canterbury. . Having still a turn for retire- 
ment, and being always conscientious in what he thought 
-his duties, he would now have fixed his abode at Canter- 
bury, and kept that constant residence which became a 
good pastor, but the queen would never sufler him to 
leave the court, insisting that it was more for the interest 
|)f the catholic faith that he^should reside near her person^ 
Many able divines were consulted on this point, who as- 
sured the cardinal that he could not with a safe conscience 
jsbaadou her ms^esty, ^ when there was so much busi- 
ness to be done, to crush the heretics, and give new life 
$o the catholic cause." 

In November of the same year, he was elected chan- 
'Cellor of the university of Oxford, and soon after that of 
Cambridge, and in 1557 he visited both by his commissa- 
ries. It was on these occasions that the shameful ceremon)^ 
was ordered, of disturbing the ashes of Peter Martyr's 
wife, at Oxford, and of Bucer and Fagius, at Cambridge. 
Other severities were exercised ; all English Bibles, com» 
ments on them, &c. were ordered to be burnt, and such 
strict search made for heretics, that many fled, and, ac- 
cording to Wood, the university lost some good scholars* 
The only instance of the cardinars liberality to Oxford, 
was his giving to AU-Souis' college, the living of Stanton 
Harcourt. 

, It was cardinal Pole^s misfortune that he was never long 
snceessful in that line of conduct which be. thought would 
have most recommended him ; and now, when he was 
doing every thing to gratify the Roman see, by the perse- 
cution of the protest^nts, &c. the pope, Paul IV. disco* 
vered a more violent animosity against him than before. 
/ The cause, or one of the causes. Was of a political nature. 
Faul wais now engaged in a war with Philip, king of Spain 
and husband to Mary, and he knew that the cardinal was 
devoted to the interesits of Spain. He therefore wanted a 



%i^ * d L ft. 

legate at the cOurt 6f £ng1&i)d Hke hittlsdf, tig6r6ti$ ^A 
resolute J leh6; bjr takih^ the lead in coUi^cil, iintf gaitiih^ 
the queen's confidence, inight prevent hef fromettgtein^ 
Ih ti^r husband's quarrels. But while Pole n^thained itt 
ihat station, he was a|5prehensiVe that by his InstigattOi^ 
Sh6 dQight enter iuto alliances destrnetive to his polities. 
Upon f atioUd pretensions, therefore, Paul IV. rtevived th6 
bid ac6u^ati6n Against the cardinal, of being a suspected 
h^r^tic, and summoned him to Rome to ah$werth6 ebar^^. 
Ht deprii^ed him also of the office of legate, whtdb he 
cbftferred upon Peyto, a Franciscan friar, whom be bad 
instde a cardinal for the purpose, designing also the see of 
Salisbury for him. This appointment took place in Sfept. 
l5iy, and the uew legate was on his way to England, wbell 
th^ bulls eam^ into the bands of queen Mary, who having 
been informed of their contents by her ambassador, laid 
them up without opeuing them, or acquainting Pole with 
them. She also directed her ambassadbr at Roiife to t^ll 
Iiis holiness, *' that this was not the method to keep tb6 
ItltigSota steadfast in the catholic faith, but rather to mak^ 
It more heretical than ever, for that cardinal Pole was th<} 
Very Anchor of the catholic party,** She did yet more, and 
Wth sbmewhat of her father's spirit, charged Peyto at hi* 
peril t& set fobt upon English gtound. Pole, however. 
Who by ^bxht means became acquainted with the fact, Ah^ 
phyeA that superstitious veneration for th6 apostolic see 
which Was the bane of his cbar^ter, and immediately laid 
ilOWn the ehsigns of his legantine power ; and dispatched 
his friend Orm^neto to the pope with an apology so sub«- 
missrve, that, w^ are told, it melted the obdurate heart of 
Paul. *The cardinal appears to have been restored to his 
poWef as legate soOn sifter, bat did Oot live to enjoy it a 
full yesir, being seized with an &gue which carried him off 
Nov, 18, 1558, the day after the death of queen Mary. 
With them ejcpired the power of the papal see over the 
political or religious Constitution of this kingdom, and aft 
its fatal effects On religiOfi, liberty, and learning. 

Cardinal Pole Was, in person, of a middle stature, at)d' 
tbm habit ; his compIe&iOn fair, with an open countenance 
and cheerful aspect. His constitutioo was healthful, aU 
though not strong. He was learned and elOquefit^ and 
naturally of a benevolent and mild disposition, but his 
bigoted attachment to the see of Rome occasioued his 
bfeitig concerned iii transactioos which probably would kiof 



P O L B, Hi 

h^^ impakii^ mih kim ; jet wa havB no rtMon to t^kk 
jfcbai he c^suaded ibc^ couxi of quoen Mftiy from ^tg ahoi* 
mmable crmeliief i aad u is cartain ^bat many of tbaia wera 
j^anriad ^n id bia aama* Mr. PbiUif^S) wbo wrote an elabo* 
m^ biiograpbioal vindicatioa of f^ajrdiaal Pde^ but wbi^ 
fvoAild not openly vindiaaie tbe at udite» of Mary*a reig% 
bas unfortunately assertedi that not one person was put ta 
daatb in tbe dioc«^ of CaotoAary, after tbe^cardioal was 
fNTOBioted to, that see ;^ bat Mr. Ridley bas clesjrly proved 
tbat DO les9 ibaii twenty*foi4r were burnt iu one year ia 
tbat diocese^ wbile P<4e was arcbbisbap* Gilpin, bowr 
evev, seettis to be of ofHuioa tbat be " would certainly 
ba^e prereated tbose reproacbos on bb religion whicb tbig 
reign occastoned, had his resolution been equaL (So bii 
judgment.^' Of both we bave a raoiarkable example^ 
alluded lo already^ but more fully quoted by tbe taine au<> 
tbor ia bis life of Latimer, wbiob seeoss to be conclusive 
as to tbe cardinars real cbaracter* Wben^ in a oouncU of 
bisiiapa, it.waa imitated how to proaeed with berettca, tbe 
cardinal said^ <^ For ray pert, I tbink we sbould be con* 
teot with the public restoration of religion ; and iostead of 
irritating our adf ersaries by a rigorous eKecution of tbe 
revived statutes, I couki wish tbat every bishop in bis 
diocese would try tbe more winukilg expedients of gentler 
ness and persuasion/f He then urged tbe example of tbe 
emperor Charles V. wbo, by a severe persecution of the 
Lutherans, involved himself in many difficulties, and pur^ 
chased nothing but dishonour^ . Notwithstatiding tbe libe- 
rality and humanity of these sentiments, when Garditier, 
Bonner, and others equally violent, were beard in favour 
of severe .measures, Pole bad not tbe courage to dissent $ 
and tbe result was a o(nnmission issued by himself, im«- 
powering tbe bishops to try and examine heretics, agree* 
ably to the laws which were now revived. 

Pole's, private life appears to have been regular and un- 
blan^eabie* His behaviour in bis last moiaenta, says Dl* 
Neve,* ^^ shewed that his religion, though ilUdirected, was 
sincere and genuine*" He appears to have been charitable 
and generous, and a kind master to bis domestics. He was 
naturally fond of study and retirement, and certainly better 
adapted lo these than tbe noore active and public sceoes gf 
life, in which, however, we have seen that he was very 
frequently employed. There is no' part of bis character,, 
says tbA author just quoted^ m(Mre aQ#bl^ than wbeu w^ 



ft* POLE; 

mew him in bis retirement, and in ihe social intercoMM- 
tirith private fiiiends : here he appeared to great advantage^ 
land displayed all the endearing good qualities of the polite 
Scholar, the cheerful companion, and the sincere friend. 
It appears by Beccatelli that he was a man of wit, and 
many of his repartees would have done credit to the wit» 
of a more refined age. 

He left his friend Priuli, a Venetian man of quality, bis 
executor %nd heir ; but the latter, whose attachment to the 
cardinal was as disinterested as it was constant, after dis- 
charging the specific legacies, divided the whole of the pro* 
"petty in the way that he thought would have been most- 
agreeable to the cardinal, and reserved to himself only hia 
friend^s Breviary and Diary. 

Pole published some other small pieces, besides those 
we have mentioned in the preceding account, and some 
translations from the fathers. He was several years em« 
ployed in collecting various readings, emendations, &c. of 
Cicero^s works, with a view to a new edition, but the^e 
are supposed to be lost. Dodd also mentions a collection 
of dispatches, letters, and dispensations, &;c. during the 
time of his reforming the Church of England in queen 
Mary's reign, 4 vols. fol. which are preserved among the 
MSSi. in the college of Doway ; and Tanner notices a few 
^ther MSS. in our public libraries. In 17^4 — 1752 a very 
valuable collection of letters which passed between Pqle 
and his learned friends, with preliminary discourses to each 
Totnme, was published by cardinal Quirini, in 4 vols. 4to^ 
This was followed, after Quirini's death, by a fifth volume^ 
from his collections. The title, ^^ Cardinalis Poll et alio«.> 
rum ad ipsum EpistolaB.'* Of the life of Cardinal Pole muck 
-Was discovered, and many mistakes rectified, in consequence 
bf the controversy excited by Mr. Phillips's life (See Phil-* 
UPS; I'homas) and which was carried on with great spirit ^ 
' POLEMBERG (Cormeuus), or Poelemburg, a cele- 
brated Dutch painter, was born at Utrecht in 1586, where 
be became the disciple of Abraham Bloemart, but went to 
complete his studies at Rome. His first determination waa 
to imitate the manner of Elsheimer ; but when he contemn 
plated the works of Raphael, he was so affected, that he 
was led irresistibly to copy after that much higher modeL 

) Biog. Britd— Atb. Ox* vol. T,-*-Life by PfaiiUps, and tbe Aoi>wers by Ridltfy, 
Veye, &c.— and Pye*K Translation of Beccatelli's Life of Pole. — Dodd's Churcll 
»Ut^y.^Mor«>s Life of Sir Tbomas More, pp. 67> H^d, SS4, Ate. Ikcw 



P OtE M B ERG. I2t 

Yhid uniotl of bbjects produced a mixed but original siyle i 
more free and graceful than the Flemish, though with far 
}ess grandeur and excellence of design than the Italian. 
He could not rise to the execution of large figures ; bia 
best pieces, therefore, are of the cabinet size ; but he sur« 
passed all his contemporaries in the delicacy of his touchy 
the sweetness of his colouring, and the choice of agreeable 
objects and situations. His skies are clear, light, and 
transparent ; his back-grounds often ornamented with the 
Testiges of magnificent Roman edifices ; and his female 
figures, which are usually without drapery, are highly 
beautiftil. He returned rather reluctantly to Utrecht^ 
where, however, his merit was acknowledged by the great 
Rubens. Charles I. invited him to London, where he was 
much employed, and richly paid ; but, though he was 
much solicited to remain here, his love for bis native 
country prevailed, aiid be returned to Utrecht, where be 
died in 1660, afflqent and highly esteemed. The genuine 
"works of Polemberg are extremely scarce ; but figuires by 
bim maybe found in the works of other artists, particularly 
those of Steenwyck, and Kierings; and his disciple Johft 
Vander Lis so successfully imitated his style, that the 
works of the pupil are frequently taken for those of thii 
master.^ 

POLENI (John}, an Italian marquis, and a learned ma« 
Ibematician, was born at Padua in 1683. He was appointed 
professor of astronomy and mathematics iR the university of 
h\s native city, and filled that post with high reputatioD» 
In three instances he gained prizes from the Royal Aca* 
idemy of Sciences, and in 1739 he was elected an associate 
bf that body. He was also a member of the academy of 
Berlin, a fellow of the London R<;>yal Society, and a mem- 
ber of the Institutes of Padua and Bologna, and contributed 
many valuable mathematical and astronomical papers to the 
-Memoirs of these Societies. As he was celebrated for his 
iskill and deep knowledge of hydraulic architecture, he was 
iiominated by the Venetian government, superintendant of 
the rivers and waters throughout the republic : other states 
also applied to him for advice, in business belonging te 
the same acience. He was sent for by pope Benedict XI V« 
to survey the state of St Peter's church at Rome, and drew 
lip a memoir on what he conceived necessary to be dpne* 

^ PilkinftoA.'ii-D'ArgeDyiUe, vol. Ilf^r-D^camps, ▼»!. I.r-*^\VaIpole's AaecdQt^ 



IM POLENI. 

He died at Padua in 1761, at the age of IS. He'app^n 
to have acquire rery distingoiibed reputation in bis day^ 
jind was the eonre^ondent of many learned contemporaries^ 
particniariy sir Isaac Newton, Leibnitz, the Bernooiili^s^ 
Wolff, Catsini, Graveiande, Moschenbroeck, FooteneHe^ 
•nd others. Nor was be more esteemed as a matfaemati* 
eian than as an antiqaary, and the learned world is indebted 
to him for a valoable supplement to the coliections of Grtt* 
Tills and Gronorios^ Venice^ 1737, 5 vols. fol. bat these 
Tolomes are rather scarce. Among bis other most valued 
publications are, ** Exercitationes Vitruviaoae, sea Com^ 
mentarius Critieus de Vitruvii arcbitectora," Venice, 1 739^^ 
4to ; and ** Dissertazione sopra al Tempio di Diana di 
£feso,*' Rome^ 1742. Fabroni gives a long list of his ina^ 
tfaematical and astronomical essays, and of the MSSw he left 
Wbind him. ^ { 

POLIDORO. See CARAVAGGIO. 

POLIGNAC (M ELCHiOR de) a celebrated French car^^ 
dtnal, was born Oct. 11, 1661, at Poy, in Velay, and was 
the son of Louis Armand, viscount de PoUgnac, descended 
from one of the most ancient families in Languedqc. He 
Was sent early to Paris, where be distinguished himself as 
• student, and was soon noticed as a young man of elegant 
manners and accomplishments. In 1689, cardinal de 
Bouillon carried him to Rome, and employed him in several 
important negociattons. It was at one of his intervievta 
with pope Alexander YIII. that this pontiff said to him^ 
^ You seem always, sir, to be of my opinion, and yet it ia 
your own which prevails at last.** We arc likewise told 
that when, on his return to Paris, Louis XIV. granted htm 
along audience, he said as he went out, ^^Ibave been 
conversing with a man, and a young man, who baa. 
contradicted me in every thing, yet pleased me in every 
thing." In 1693, he was sent as ambassador into Po* 
)and, where he procured the prince of Conti to be 
elected and proclaimed king in 1696; bqt, this eleci* 
tion not having been supported, he was obliged to re# 
tire, and return to France, where he arrived in 169*8, after 
losing all his equipage and furniture^ which was seized* by 
the Dantzickers. The king then banished him to his abbey 
at Bonport, but recalled him to court with great expressiona 
of regard in 1702, and in 1706 appointed him auditor of 
the Ruta. M. Polignac then set out again for Rome ; and 

1 Fabioai Vite lUloruoii Tol. XII.— Diet. Hist 



P L I G M A C. in 

aihlln«l dte U l^reiMulttoi who crondutt«d the Fuench af- 
Sms there^ lillyitfg lb6 same opkiion of bim « cardinal d% 
£ouiUo& bad, Miployad him in 66t0ml negociationtf. 
GtMDg back to Fraftc^ thr^a j^eari after, hia majasty sMt 
htm a» |^Wnipol6fitiary into Holland in 1 7 1 o, with mareebal 
il'UiieU«ft. He waa alto pi^nipotdnciary at Ibe conferanoea 
M4p6a€«of Ucreebt» in 17I2 and 17I9. The king, sa^ 
tkfied wiib bis seri^ices, obtained a cardinal's hat for bim 
(be saoBre year^ and appointed bim master of fais cbapel; 
Daring Ibie regenoy, cardinal de Polignac was banished ta 
hi* abbey of Anohin in 1718, And not recalled till 172 u 
in 1724, be went to Rome for the election of pope 6ene<* 
diot XlII. and remained there eight yeflrs^ being encrusted 
with tbe ftffiMfs of France. In 1726, he was made arobbi- 
shop Of Aaeb, returned to bis natita country in 1732, and 
died at Paris^ Notember 10, 1741, aged 80. He was A 
member^df the French Academy^ the academy of science^ 
and that of belles lettres. He is now chiefly remem*- 
ber^ for his elegant Ltitin poemi entitled *^ Anti-Lucre'* 
tius,*^ in whith he refutes the system mid doctrine of £pi^ 
eurus, according to the principles of Descartes* philosophy. 
Thvs lie left to a friend, Charles de Roth^lin, who published 
It in 1747, 2 rols. 8vo. It has since been often reprinted^ 
and elegantly translated by M. de BougaiuTille, secretary 
to the academy of belles iettres.. His Life was published at 
Paris, 1777, 2 Vols. f2mo^ by F. Chrysostom Fauchen 
The reyiewer of this life very justly lays, that the man who 
compiled the ^^ Anti-Lucretius,'* and proposed a plan for 
forming a new bed for the Tiber, in order to recover the 
Statues, medals, basso-relievos, and other ancient monu-* 
ments^ which were buried there during the rage of civil 
fiictions, and the incursions of the barbarians^ deserves an 
eminent place in literary biography. Few works have been 
more favourably received throughout Europe than the car-" 
dinars celebrated poem, although he was so much of a 
Cartesian. The fitst copy that appeared in England waa 
one in the possession of the celebrated earl of Chesterfield^ 
l^nd such was its reputation abroad at that time, that thia 
Copy was conveyed by a trumpet from marshal Saxe to thcf 
Duke of Cumberland, directed for the earl of Chesterfield* 
It was sent to him both as a judge of the work, and a friend 
df the writer '. 

1 Life M Abare.— Diet. fi}8i«i^1i«it»raeVI*s Menpirs.— Monthly Review^ 
wl. LVI. 



iiiH : T o LIT h 

. PQLITI (Alexander), w^ bom at Floretic^ in I67$» 
;&nd was early distiDguished in the schools of philosophy and 
.theology, for the extent of his memory and the sagacity of 
bis mind* He became very early a teacher in the sciences 
jaboye-mentioned, and in rhetoric at Genoa; but in nSS^p 
yvas invited to Pisa to give lectures on the Greek. language^ 
«?bence be was promoted to the professorship of eloquence^ 
iwhich had been some time vacant, after the death of Bene^ 
<dict Avefano. He died of an apoplexy, July 23, 1752. 
He distinguished himself as a commentator and as an aa- 
|tbor, by publishing, 1/An edition of Homer with Eusta^ 
thius's commentary, to which he added, a Latin transla- 
tion, and abundant notes, in 3 vols, folio, 1730, 1732^ 
1735. The fourth volume was in the press when he died^ 
but has not since appeared. 2. ^* Martyrplogium Roma« 
pum castigatum, ac commentariis illustratam,^* folio, Flo- 
rence, 1751. 3. /* Orationes 12 ad Academiam Pisanam^ 
1746.'* 4. *' Panegyricus Imp. Francisco I. consecratosj" 
Florence, 4to. 5. ** De patria in condendis testamentis 
potestate,'' Florence, 1712, 12mo, in four books. ^ 
. POLITIAN (Angelus), a most ingenious and learned 
Italian, was born July 14, 1454, at Monte Pulciano inr 
Tuscany ; and from the name of this town, in Latin Mms 
Pclitianus^ he derived the surname of Politian. His fathei; 
was a doctor of the civil law. His name, according to Ma 
Paillet, was Benedictus de Cinis, or, de Ambroginis, for 
be considers the former as a corruption of the Ifttter. — rPo« 
litian, who gave early proofs of an extraordinary genius^ 
bad the advantage of Cbristophero Landino^s instructions in 
the Latin language. His preceptors in the Greek were 
Andronicus of Thessalonica and John Argyropylus. Hif 
abilities, at a very early period pf his life, attracted the 
notice of Lorenzo and Julius de Medici. An Italian poem^ 
the production of his juvenile pen, in which he celebrated 
an equestrian spectacle, or Giostra, wherein the latter bore 
away the prize, greatly contributed to establish his repu«» 
tation. He was thence honoured with the peculiar pa-> 
tronage of the Medicean family ; and, among other persona 
remarkable for genius and learning, whom the munificence 
of Lorenzo attracted to Florence, Politian was seen to 
$hine as a star of the first magnitude. Lorenzo confided 
to him the education of his own children ; and in tfaia 

i Fabroni V|t9 lUilonim. * 



? O L ITI A NC 125 

lioik)ttfabIe employment he passed a gre&t part of his lire, 
fayoored with the peculiar friendshrp of his patron, and the 
society and correspondence of men of letters. Among the 
more intimate associates of Politian, was Pieus of Miran-* 
dola, and between these eminent scholars there was a strict 
attachment, and a friendly communication of studies. The 
Platooic philosopher, Marsilius Ficiuus, conipleted this^ 
literary triumTirate* 

Politian had been indebted for his education to Lorenro^ 
who had eariy procured for faifin the citizenship of Flo-^ 
rence; placed- him in easy and affluent circumstances; 
probably conferred «n him the secular priory of the college 
of S. GipTanni, which be held ; and on his entrance into 
clerical orders^ appointed him a canon of the cathedral of 
Florence. It was at this period that the arts and sciences 
began gradually to revive and flourish ; philosophy *'to be 
freed/* to use the expression of aatiquaries, "from th^ 
dust of barbarism,*' and critictsia to assume a manly and 
irational appearance. The more imn»ediate causes wbtcli 
brought about these desirable events, were, the arrival of 
4he illustrious Grecian exiles in Italy ; the discovery of an* 
tient manuscripts; establishment of public libraries, and 
seminaries of education; and especially the invention of 
printipg. No braneh of science was cultivated with greatef 
ardbur than classical literature : under the peculiar patron-^ 
age of Lorenzo, and of some of the chief of other states in 
Italy, who imitated his liberality, eminent scholars engaged 
with incredible ardour and diligence, in collating manu- 
scripts, and ascertaining the genuine text of Greek and 
Latin authors : explaining their obscurities, illustrating 
them with commentaries, translating them into various 
languages, and iipitating their beauties^ 

The *^ Miscellanea'' of Politian were first published at 
Florence, in 1489, and were every where received with the 
greatest ap]dau$e, and compared by the learned to the 
^< Noctes Attics" of Aulus Gellius. His Latin version of 
Herodian is universally allowed to be a masterly perform^ 
ance, and perhaps no other translation of any Greek au-* 
ihor has l^een so niich and so generally admired. Some 
critics have declared, that if the Greek of Herodian could 
liave been suppressed, this work might have passed among 
likt learned for the classical and finished production of 
aome original pen of Antiquity. Yet amidst such general 
#ppEobation| there -werc^ not ^i^ting othejFs who aocusei 



%26 ^OtlTIAM. 

\Am of having publUhed w bi» *w», » vtf nugn ^cviPiieljF 
lawulp^ by Gr^^oriu^ ^f Tipl^rn«iii: M. 4<b U Mw»ojr« 
maintains tjiat Ommhwmf » native of L^mgo^fteftrVi^^osa^ 
coaiQoonly ^etiOQAiaat^d Oionibon^ Yicesntioii^y ivfis <b0 
author of tbi^ prior vief^ion ; aod ^od^arQur^ to prpir^ fr^i<^ 
a fragment of it» tb»t Politian bad ^een md fty^iiteiii kim* 
^If of it. These detrftpiioftf, boweverp fca^e noi bw» g0^ 

nerally admitted. Politian inscribed tbid vief^iao to Popo 
I^nfioeent VIIL io a dedicntiop wbicb 19 prefixed lo fM^t of 
the ancient editioo^ of ihe work, and ^bicb procwr^d bum 
a present froi]Q bis boUneys pf two hundred g$dd or^vi^t 
Politian returned tbai)k^ in a .courtly and sosoiewbat adnla^ 
tory epistle, in wbicb be ej^tols the pope's boiuM;y, and 
protoiiises to redouble bis efforts to prodi^oe somefcfaing mwtm 
worthy of so exaked a patron. 

Tbe'^ Greek Epigran^" of Ptditian were wrijbjbeo^ f/^rike 
most part, • when be was very yotiog, hm frosa the addresa 
to the reader prefixed to tbeoi, in the volume of his works^ 
they appear to have been p«bUsb^d after bis deaths fron 
the original manuscrj^t, by Zenobitts Accisyobis, who did 
not consider theoa as adding m^ch to tbe fanae of (bbe aa^ 
thor, and some of tbem might have been avppreased, withf 
out injury to literature, and a&ttm\ly with advantage to Ijm 
moral reputation of tbe author^ He is supposed to har^ 
written a translation of Homer, but no part <Qf it is Aoar 
known to exist Of bis other Latin poems, the ^ llanto,^ 
^ Rusticus," and probably the ^' Ambna," were oecasipnal^ 
and intended for public recitation ; and apfhear to ha\na 
been published at the instance of stMoae of bi« pupils. Per>» 
haps bis most laboured production is the ^ Nubdcia,''^ vbicib 
seems to be the poem sent by bigs jto MatibiaskiDg of Hun* 
gary, as a specimen of bis taleolis. 

The labours of Politian ca ibe tpandeds of Jostiniaa : bis 
collations and corrections of classic .authors, and tbe lesa 
voluminous pieces that are ctmtaioed iu bis woiii:s, af9 
lasting monuments of bis erudition and industry; but^ucHi 
was his confidence in bis powers, that be affeoted to .ooiuaf- 
der all bis past works, merely as preludes to otberii of 
greater magoitude. These, boweifter, he did oot live ta 
execute. 

Serious ebarges have beea .alleged agaiu^ the purity of 
his morals : but these are, for tbe snotit part, allowed to 
rest on the very questionabJe authoeityiof Paulus ^oivius ; of 
whom it is said, that prsjudioe, xeseAftmeut, or interest 



P O LITl A N. I» 

gmapaily guided iiis pen. Politian hta fcMiud able adro^ 
cates in Pierius YaleiiaDus *^ De Lafelicttate Literatorum^^ 
In Bartbius' ^^ Adversaria/* and in Mr* Roscoe. li nual 
be acknowledged, however, aap bia late biographer^ Mr# 
Gresswell, that the youthful muse of Poiitian did not ai-» 
ways adfaere to the strictness of decorum, «fiamlttoo.eom'» 
men amongst the poetical writers of his age. A few of bia 
Greek epigrams, as well aa of his Latin verses, are very ex** 
ceptionafole. 

The only probable account of the death of this distin-* 
guifihed scholar is, that it was prematurely occasioned by 
bis grief for the misfortunes of the Medicean fiamily, from 
whom he bad received so many favours, . and with whose 
prosperity and happiness, his own were so intimately oon-* 
«ected. This event took place September 24, 1494^ ia 
the forty-first yesr of his age. His ** Letters,** which serve 
to illustrate bis life and literary labours, were prepared fot 
the press by himself, a very short time before his deaths 
at the particular request of the son and successor of Lo« 
renze. The letters of Politian and his friends, in the ear* 
lier editions, at least in that printed by Jo. Badius Ascen-* 
sius at Paris, 1512, are entitled '^ Angeli Politiani Epis* 
toIaB,*' but in a subsequent edition of 1519 from the same 
press, more properly ^^ Virorum lilustrium £pistol»/* ^ 

POLLEXFEN (Sir Henry), an English lawyer and 
judge, was descended from a good family in Devonshire, 
where he probably was educated, as Prince intimates that 
be was of no university. He studied the law, however^ at 
eae of the inns of court, and acquired very considerable 
practice in the reign of Charles II. He was counsel for 
the earl of Danby in 1€79, wbG»m he advised to plead his 
pardon ; and the corporation of London afterwards engaged 
him to plead, with Treby, in behalf of their charter. lu 
1688 he sat as one of the members for the city of Exeter, 
and he was retained as one of the counsel for the bishops* 
After the revolution he was knighted, called a serjeant April 
11, 1689, and appointed chief justice of the common pleas 
#n May 5 following ; but be held this office a ^ery short 
time, dying in 1692. Burnet calls him ** an honest 
and learned, but perplexed lawyer/' In 1702 was pub* 
bshed his ^^ Arguments and Reports in some special cases 
in the King*s Bencb from 22 to 36 Car.IL ^v^ith some case^ 

^ Gr^swelPs Memoirs of PoUtiaQ«-<-Roscoe's Lorenzo and Le«. 



%2$ t D L L E X r E K. 

in the Colnmon^ Pleas and Excheqaer, together with dirert 
decrees in the High Court of Chancery, upon Limitaiiont 
of Trusts of Terms for years," foL with two tables. Tb# 
copies of these reports, Mr. Bridgman informs us, are Yery 
incorrect, varying in the pages, and in the dates. In tbo 
pages there is a chasm from 173 to 176, and from 181 to 
184, with other errors. ' 

POLLUX (Juuus), an ancient Greek grammarian, wai 
bom at Naucrates, a town in Egypt, in the year ISO. Hav?> 
ing been educated linder the sophists, he became eminent 
in grammatical and critical learning; taught rhetoric at 
Athens, and acquired so much reputation, that be was ad^r 
vanced to be preceptor of the emperor Comi^odus. . He 
drew up for, and inscribed to this prince while his father 
Marcus Antoninus was living, an ** Onomasticon, or Greek 
Vocabulary,'' divided into ten books. It is still extant^ 
and contains a vast variety of synonymous words and 
phrases, agreeably to the copiousness of the Greek lan« 
guage, ranged under the general classes of things* The 
first edition of the '< Onomasticon" was published at Venice 
by Aldus in 1502, and a Latin version was added in the 
edition of 1608, by Seberus; but there was no correct and 
handsome edition of it, till that of Amsterdam^ 1706, in 
folio, by Lederlin and Hemsterhuis. Lederlin went 
through the first seven books, correcting the text and ver* 
don^ and subjoining his own, with the notes of Salmasiusi 
Is. Vossius, Valesius, and of Kuhnius, whose scholar he 
had been, and whom he succeeded in the professorship of 
the Oriental languages in the university of Strasburgh* 
•Hemsterhuis continued the same method through the three 
last books. Pollux died in the year 238. He is said to 
have written many other works, none of which are comd 
down to us ; but there was another of the same name, who 
is supposed to have flourished about the end of the fourth 
century, and wrote ** Historia physica, seu chronicon afa^ 
origine mundi ad Valentis tempora." Of this Bianconi 
published the first edition at Bonon. 1779, fol. and Igna-^ 
tins Hardt, a second in 1792, ^vo^ without knowing of th^ 
preceding.* 

POLO MARCO. See PAULO- 

> Koble's Continuation of Granger.— Prince'« VtTorthiet. — Bamet'fl Owi^ 
Times.-- Bridgman*s Legal Bibliography. 
I Fabric, Bibl Qnec,— Yotiiuc 4e Uiit. Or«e.— ^loant'i Onmn, 



P O L Y ^ N U S. 129 

i^OLY-SNUS is the name of many eminent personages 
recorded in ancient writers, particularly Julius Polyasnus, 
6f whom some Greek epigrams are extant, in the. first book 
of the Anthologia. But the PolyaBUUs who is best known> 
flourished in the' second century, and is the author of the 
eight books of the '^ Stratagems of illustrious Commanders • 
in war." He appears to have been a Macedonian, and pro.*- 
bably was a soldier in the younger part of his life ; but we 
are more certain that he was a rhetorician, and a pleader of 
causes ; and that he enjoyed a place of trust and dignity 
under the emperors Antoninus and Verus, to whom he de* 
dicated bis work. The " Strategemata" were published in 
Greek by Isaac Casaubon, with notes, in J 589, 12mo ; but 
no good edition of theno appeared, till that of Leyden, 
1690, in 8vo. The title-page runs thus: " Polyeeni Strait 
tegematum libri octo, Justo Vulteio interprete, Pancratius 
Mas^svicius recensuit, Isaaci Casauboni nee non suas notas 
adjecit.'* This was followed, in 1756, by Mursinua's edi- 
tion, Berlin, and by that of Coray, at Paris in 1809, 
8vo. We have now an excellent English translation by 
Mr. R. Shepherd, 1793, 4to. It contains various strata- 
gems, of above three hundred commanders and gene^rals of 
armies^ chiefly Greeks and Barbarians, which are at least 
entertaining, and illustrative of the nianners of the times 
in which those commanders lived ; but it may be doubted 
whether a modern soldier would gain much advantage by 
making himself master of this tricking study. The origi- 
nal has come down to us incomplete, and with the text con- 
siderably mutilated and corrupted; but the style is clas- 
sical, and even elegant. 

The whole collection, says. the translator, if entire, 
would have consisted of nine hundred stratagems ; con- 
taining the exploits of the most celebrated generals, of 
various nations, fetched' from ages remote as th^ page of 
history will reach, and carried forward to our author^s own 
time : so wide was the field he traversed of annals, histories, 
and lives, in the prosecution of his design ; a manual, as he 
terms it, of the science of generalship. And in so large a 
collection, if some stratagems occur, that bear a resem- 
blance to each other, som^^imes with little variation em- 
ployed, by the same general, and sometimes, on differeoifc 
occasions, copied by others ; the reader will be rather sur- 
prised that he finds so few instances of this kind, than led 
to have expected none. Some will strike him as unimpor- 

VoL. XXV. K 



130 POL Y JE N U S. 

tanti and soili^ are not properly military stratagems. Soine 
devices again will appear so ludicrous and absurd, as no-" 
thing but the barbarism of the times, the ignorance and 
superstition* that in some states prevailed, will reconcile to 
credibility. The stratagems however that rank under those 
classes are few: the work in general was executed with 
great judgment ; and, as the author himself observes, he 
bad employed upon it no small degree of pains. 

Polyaenus composed other works besides his ^ Strate* 
gemata.^* Stobseus has produced some passages out of m 
book ** De Republica Macedonum ;" and Suidas mentions 
another concerning " Thebes," and three books of "Tac- 
tics." If death had not prevented, he would have written 
^ Memorabilia of the emperors Antoninus and Verus :" 
ifot this he promises in the preface to his sixth book of 
Stratagems. ' 

POLYBIUS, an eminent Greek historian, was of Mega- 
lopolis, a city of Arcadia, and was the son of Lycortas, ge-* 
neral of the Achseans, who were then the most powerful 
republic in Greece. He was bom in the fourth year of the 
143d olympiad, or in the 548th year of the building of 
Rome, or about 203 years before Christ. When twenty-^ 
four years of age, the Achseans sent him and bis father 
Lycortas ambassadors to 'the king of Egypt; and the. son 
had afterwards the same honour, when he wa« deputed to 
go to the Roman consul, who made war upon Perses, king 
of Macedon. In the consulships of iEmilius Psetns and 
Julius Pennus, a thousand Achseans were ordered to Rome^ 
as hostages, for the good behaviour of their countrymert 
who were suspected of designs against the Romans ; aiKi 
were there detained seventeen years. Polybius, who was 
one* of them, and was then thirty-eight years of age, had 
great talents from nature, which were well cultivated bf 
education; and bis residence at Rome appears to hav^ 
-been of great advantage to him ; since he owed to it, not 
only the best part of his learning, but the important friend- 
ship be contracted with Scipio and Lcelius ; and when the 
time of his detention expired, he accomp8|iied Scipio into 
Africa. After this he was witness to the sack and destruc* 
Uon of Corinth, and of the leduction of Achai^l to the 
condition of a Roman province. Amidst these dreadful 

1 Votf. d9 HiHi Qiao^^Fftbuo* BibL Oittc;-.^SIiei»ta«rd'i TcMM^timi.^ 
Saxii 0«giaaL8t« 



^ O L Y B I U S; til 

sctoes, he displayed ooble trsiits of patriatidtn iiml 
disinterestedness, which obtained fdr him so much cre~ 
die, that he was entrusted with the car^ of settling the 
new form of goTernment in the cities of Gre^o^, 
which office he performed to the satisfaction both of ttie 
jHomans and the Greeks. In all hi& journeys he atfi«4«>' 
sed materials for his history, and took such obsefvatiotts 
as to render his descriptions very accurate Although 
bis chief object was the history of the Romans, whose Ihn^ 
guage be had learned with great care, and the establish^ 
HieDt of their empire, yet be had in his eye the general 
bistory of the times in which be lived; and therefore be 
gave bis work the name of *^ Catholic or Universal :^^ nor 
was this at all inconsistent with his general ptlr<pose, there 
bekg scarcely any nations at that time in tbd kno^h world, 
which had not some contest with, or dependence upoii, the 
Romans. Of foriy books which he composed, there remain 
but the first five entire ; with aii epitome of thei twelve 
following, which, is supposed to have been made by that 
great assertor of Roman liberty, Marcus Brutus. Brutus^ 
is said to have been so partieulariy fond of Polybius, that^ 
even in the last and most unfortunate hours of his life,' hef 
amused himself not only in readings but also in abridging 
his history* The space of time which this history includes^ 
is fifty-three years, beginnings after two of introductory 
matter^ at the third book. 

How much this htstortan was valued by the ancients, ap«- 
pears by the number of statues erected to his honour, and 
Cicero^ Strabo, Josephus, Platarob, and others, have spoken 
of him in terms of the highest applause. Livy however 
bas been censured for calling him only auiptor baudqua*' 
quam spernendus, *^ an author by no means to be de-^ 
spised," after he bad borrowed Very largely from hini ; bat 
Caaanbon and VTossius think that according to thef usual 
phraseology of the aneients, Livy's eij^pressioii implies ai 
very high eulbgium, Polybius's style is by flo means ele- 
gant, but the acctifacy a'Ad fidelity of his narrative reiKleif 
his history ^ work of great imporiaDce* There is no his-' 
torian amo^g the ancients, from whdm more is to be 
leamed of the events which he profesise^ to narrate, and 
ibis mncb t6 be lamented that his bistoty has not descended 
to us in a perfect state. We hate only the first five books 
entire, and an abridgment of the twelve following, with 
some excerpta or extracts of this history, formerly made by 

K 2 



ISS P O L Y B I U a 

Constantiniis Porphyrogenitus : which were first published 
in Greek by Ursinus in 1582, and in Greek and Latin by. 
the learned Henry Valesius in 1634. Poly biu« .lived to- a» 
great age ; but concerning the particulars of his life much 
cannot be collected. He was highly honoured by the 
friendship of Scipio ; who, when the other hostages from 
Achaia were distributed through the cities of Italy, obtaiii^cV 
leave by his interest for Polybius to live at Rome. He< died 
at eighty-two years of age, of an illness occasioned by a 
fall from his horse. ^ ' 

His history was first published at Haguenau, by Obso- 
pseus, in 1530, fol. Gr. and Lat. and was reprinted by Isaac 
Casaubon at Paris, 1609, in folio, an edition very highly va- 
lued. The next is Gronpvius's, with many additions, par- 
ticularly the *^ Excerpta de legationibus, et virtutibus ''ae 
vitiis v" for the " Extracts of Constamine," published se- 
parately by Ursinus and Valesius, were upon those subjects. 
Gronovius's edition was published, at Amsterdam, 1670, 3- 
vols. 8vo 'f but the best, and indeed an incomparable spe- 
cimen of editorial learning and accuracy, is that of Leipsic, 
1789, 9 vols. 8vo» Hampton^s English translation has usu- 
ally been reckoned a good one, but has been severely eri-. 
ticised by . the late learned Mr. Whitaker in his '^ Course 
of Hannibal.* . ' 

POLYC ARP, an apostolic father of the Christian church, 
was born in the reign of Nero, probably at Smyrna, a city 
of Ionia in Asia Minor, where be was educated at the ex- 
penc^ of Calisto, a noble matron of great piety and cha- 
rity. In his younger years he is said to be instructed i» 
the Christian faith by Bucolus, bishop of that plaice : h^t 
others consider it as certain that he was a disciple of St« 
John the Evangelist, and familiarly conversed with others 
of the apostles. At a proper age, Bucolus ordained him a 
deacon and catechist of his church ; and, upon the death of 
that prelate, he succeeded him in the bishopric. To this 
he was consecrated by St, John; who also, according to 
archbishop Usher, directed his " Apocalyptical Epistle,'* 
among six others, to him, under the title of the '^ Angel of 
the Church of Smyrna," where, many years after the 
apostle's death, he was also visited by St. Ignatius^ , Igua* 
tius recommended his own see of Antioch to the care aucI 
superintendance of Polycarp, and afterwards sent an epistle 

■ > Vossius de Hist. Or»c.— Saxii OMinasU— Oibdin** Classics. ' ' 



P O L Y C A R p. 133 

to the church of Smyrna from Troas, A. C. 107; wheri 
Polycarp is supposed to have written his '^ Epistle to the 
Philippiaiis/' a translation of which is preserved by Dv. 
Cave. 

' From this time, for many years, history is silent concern- 
ing him, till some unhappy differences in the churcli 
brought him into general notice. It happened, that the 
controversy about the observation of Easter began to grow 
very virarm between the eastern and western churches; 
each obstinately insisting \ipon their own way, and justify- 
ing themselves by apostolical practice and tradition. To 
prevent the worst consequences of this contest, Polycarp 
^ndertook a journey to Rome, that he might converse with 
those who were the main supports and champions of the 
opposite party. The see of chat capital of the Roman em- 
pire was then possessed by Anicetiis ; and many confer- 
ences were held between the two bishops, each. of them 
urging apostolical tradition for their practice. But all was 
managed peaceably and amicably, without any beat of con- 
tention ; and, though neither of them could bring the other 
into bis opinion, yet they retained their own sentiments 
without violating that charity which is the great and com- 
mon law of our religion. In token of this, they communicated 
together at the holy sacrament ; when Anicetus, to do 
honour to Polycarp, gave him leave to consecrate the eu- 
charistical elements in his own church.^ This done, they 
parted peaceably, each side esteeming this difference to be 
merely ritual, and no ways affecting the vitals of religion ; 
but the dispute continued many years in the church, was 
carried on with great animosity, and ended at length in a 
fixed establishment, which remains to this day, of ob$er.v« 
ing Easter on different days in the two churches: for the 
Asiatics keep Easter on the next Lord^s day after the 
,Jewisb passover, and the church of Rome the next Sunday 
' after the first full moon that follows the vernal equinox. 
- During* Polycarp's stay at Rome, he employed himself 
particularly in opposmg the heresies of -Marcion and Va- 
lentious, which he did with more zeal and warmth than ori 
former occasions. Irenseus tells us, that . upon Polycarp^ 
passing Marcion in the street without the common saluta^^ 
tion, the latter called out, ^^ Polycarp, own us!'* to which 
the former replied, with indignation, ^^ I own the^ to be 
ihe h^st-born of Satan.*' To this the same author adds^ 



I3i P O L Y C A R P. 

that, when any heretical doctrines were spoken in hit pre-» 
aeooe^ be would presently stop bis ears, crying out, *^ Good 
God I to what limes hast thou reserved me, that I should 
hear such things !*' and immediately quitted the place. In 
the same zeal he was Wont to tell, that St. John, going 
into a baUi at Ephesus, and finding the heretic Cerinthos 
in it, started back instantly without bathing, crying out^ 
*^ Let us run away, lest the bath should £iUi upon us while 
Clerintbus, the enemy of truth, is in it." Polyoitrp governed 
the cbui-ch of Smyrna with apostolic purity, till be suffered 
martyrdom in the seventh year of Marcus Aureiius, A. C« 
167 ; the manner of which is thus related : 

The persecution growing violent at Smyrna^ and many 
baring already sealed their confession with their blood, tbe 
general outcry was, ^^ Away with the impious ; let Polyoarp 
be sought for." . On this he withdrew privately into a 
neighbouring village, where he lay concealed tor some 
time, continuing night and day in prayer for the peace of 
tbe choncxb. He was thus occupied, when, one liigbt falling 
into a irance, he dreamed that his pillow took fire, and was 
burnt to ashes ; which he told his friends was a presage, 
that be should be burnt alive for the cause of Christ/ Three 
days after tfai^ dream, in order to escape tbe search which 
was carried on incessantly after him, be retired into ano* 
tber village^ where be was discovered, although some say 
be had time to escape ; but he refused it, saying, '^Tbe 
will of the Lord he done.'' Accordingly be saluted his 
persecutors with a cheerful countenance ; and, ordering a 
table to be set with provisions, invited them to partake of 
them, only requesting for himself one hour for prayer. 
This being over, be was set upon an ass, and conducted 
lowajrds tbe city. Upon the road he was met by Herod, 
aa Ii'enarcb or justice f^tbe province, and bis father, who 
Vfive the principal agents in this persecution. This ma^ 
gistrate taking him up into his cbariot, tried to undermine 
bis constancy ; and, being defeated in the attempt, ilirust 
ium waA of the chariot with so much violence, that he 
bruised bis thigh with the fall. On his arrival at tbe plaoe 
gi exeeution, there came, as is said^ a voice 6om heaven,, 
saying, ^^Polyeapp, be strong, and quit thyself like a mad." 
Being brought before the tribunal^ he was urged to sweat 
by the genius of Caesar. ^< Repeat," oontimies the pro-» 
i»naul« ^^ ajad say with us. Take aj^ay the impioua." Qa 
this the martyr looking rouqd the stadium, and beholding 



r a L Y c A R p. Mf 

the crowd vritb a serere and angry ooiinte&aiice> beckoned 
vUb bis band, and looking up to heaven, said with a sigby 
qaile.in aootfaer tone than they intended, ^< Take away the 
tnpiotis.'' At last, confessing bimself to be a Christian^ 
proriaamtien was made thrice of bis confession by the 
crier, at which the people shouted, ^^ This is the great 
teaeher of Asia, and the ftitber of the Christians ; this is the 
destroyer of our gods, that teaches men not to do sacrifiee^ 
Off worship the deities.^' The fire being prepared^ Poly^ 
carp, at bis own request, was not, as usual, nailed, but only 
tied to tbe stake ; and after pronouncing a short prayer^ 
with a clear and audible voice, the executioner blew up 
the fire, which increasing to a mighty flame, ^^ Behold a 
wonder seen," says Eusebius, *' by us who were purposely 
reserved, that we might declare it to others ; the flames 
disposing themselves into the resemblance of.au arch, like 
the sails of a ship swelled with the wind, gently encircled 
tbe body of the martyr, who stood all the while in the 
midst, not like roasted flesh, but like tbe gold or silver 
purified in die furnace, his body sendiog forth a delightful 
fragrancy, which, like frankincense, or some other costly 
spices, presented itself to our senses. The infidels, ezas- 
peratcul by^ the miracle, comasanded a spearman to fun him 
through with a sword : which be bad no sooner done, but 
such a vast quantity of blood flawed from the wonnd, as 
extinguished tbe fire ; when a dove was seen to fly froan 
the wound, which some suppose to have been, his soul, 
cloathed in a visible shape at tbe time of its departuie^.'' 
Tbe Christians would have carried off his body entire^ but 
were not suflCered by the Irenarcb, who commanded it to 
be burnt to ashes. The bones, however, were gathered 
«p, and decently interred by tbe Christians. 

Thus died this apostolical man, as supposed, in May 
167. The amphitheatre whereon he suffered waatemain*- 
ing in a great measure not many years ago, and his tomb 
is in a little chapel in the side of a mountain, on the south- 
east part of the etty, solemnly visited by the Greeks on his 
festival day ; and for the maintenance and repairing of it, 
trnveliera were wont to throw a few aspers into an earthen 
pet that stands there for tbe purpose. He wrote aome 

* The miraculoufl part of this ao- in its faTour, by Jortin, who obserfM, 

fomt ii treaia^ with ridicuW by Mid- that ** tba dreaniitaocdi art anAclent 

dtetoo in bia *< Free Enquiry,'* and to ereate a p«iiae and a do«iit«'* Rat- 

Btfenof of it 9 bJit somf thing is «fi^rdl markf m.Efd. Hisi. toI. I. 



iSfi P 6 L Y C A R p. 

faomilies and epistles, which are all lost, except that to tha* 
^^ Philippians/' which is a pious and truly Christian piece, 
containing short 'and useful precepts and rules of life, and* 
which, St. Jerome tells us, was even in his time read in. 
the public assemblies of the Asian churches. - It is among. 
archbishQp Wake*s ". Genuine Epistles of the Apostolic 
Fathers," and the original was published by archbishop 
^Usher in 164^8^ and has been reprinted -since in yariouft 
collections.' [Wake has also given a translation of the ac»< 
count of Polycarp's death, written in^ the name of the 
church of Smyrna.] It is .' of singular use in proving the 
authenticity of the books of the New Testament ; inasmuch 
asi he has several passages and expressions from Matthew, 
Luke, the Acts, St. PauPs Epistles to the Philippians^ 
iEphesians, Galatians, Corinthians, Romans, Thessalonians, 
Colossians, 1st Timothy, ]st Epistle of St. John, and 1st 
of Peter; and makes particular mention of St. Paul's Epis^ 
tie to the Ephesians. Indeed, his whole '^ Epistle" consists 
of phrases and sentiments taken from the New Testament.^ 
/ POLYCLETUS, a famous sculptor of antiquity, was a 
native of Sicyou, and flourished about the year 430 B. C. 
Weknowjiothing of his history but from incidental notice 
of himiin Pliny. His Doryphorus, one of his figures, for 
his excellence lay in single figures, :was esteemed, a canon 
of proportion ; we read also of the statue of a boy, which 
was estimated . at a hundred talents,, or perhaps nearly 
50,000/.' according to. our mode of reckoning. The em- 
pesor Titus had two naked boys playing at a game, by his 
Laiid, which was considered as a perfect performance. 
Lysippus the painter formed bis manner on the study of 
the Doryphorus of this artist.* 

POLYGNOTUS, a celebrated painter of Thasos, flou- 
rished about 422 B.^C.and.was the son and scholar of Ag- 
laophon. He particularly dbtinguished himself by a series 
of pictures, including the principal events of theTrojan 
war. He refused the presents offered him by the Grecians 
.on this :occasion ;. which so pleased the Amphictyons, who 
composed the general council of Greece, that they,tbanked 
him by a solenin decree ; and it was providediby the same 
decree, that this skilful painter should be lodged and en- 
tertained, at the public expence, in' every town through 

• ' ' ■ 

1 Wake's Genuine Epistles.— Lardner's Works.— Care.— Mi!ner*8 Ch. Hist^ 
-wrSaxii Onomast. 
9 Plioy, XXXIV. 8.— FuselPs Lectures^ Lecture I. 



P O L Y G N O T U S. 1S7 

^vhich be passed. The talents of Polygnotus are celebrated 
bj many of the best authors of antiquity, as Aristotle and* 
Piatarcb, Dionysius Halicarnassensisy Pausanias, bat es*' 
pecialiy Pliny, whose sentiments, as well as those of PaU- 
sanias, are criticised by Mr. Fuseli in his Lectures on Paint-* 
ing.'* ' • 

f POMBAL (Sebastian Joseph Carvalho), marquis of, 
a famous Portuguese minister of state, whom the Jesuits,' 
whose banishment he pronounced, have defamed by all 
possible means, and others have extolled as a most able 
statesman, was born in 1 699, in the territory of .Coim**^ 
bra;. a robust and distinguished figure seemed to mark' 
hiip for the profession of arms, for which, after a short 
trial, he quitted the studies of his native university. He 
found, however, a still readier path to fortune, by jonar- 
rying, lin spite of opposition from her relations. Donna 
Teresa de Noronha Almada, a lady of one of the first fami- 
lies in Spain.. He lost her in 1739, and being sent on a 
secret expedition in 1745 to Vienna, he again was fortu- 
nate. in marriage, by obtaining the countess of Daun, a re- 
lation of the marshal of. that name. This wife became a 
favourite with the queen of Portugal, who interested her- 
self to obtain an appointment for Carvalho, in which, how- 
ever, she did. not succeed, till after the death of her hus- 
band^ John V. in 1750. Her son Joseph gave Carvalho the 
appointment of secretary for foreign affairs, in which situa- 
tion he completely obtained the confidence of the king. 
His haughtiness, as well as some of his measures, created 
many enemies ; and in 1758, a conspiracy headed by the 
duke d'Aveiro, who bad been the favourite of John V. 
broke out in an attempt to murder the king as he returned 
from his castle of Belem. The plot being completely dis-« 
covered, the conspirators were, punished, not only severely 
but cruelly ; and the Jesuits who had been involved in it, 
were banished from the kingdom. At the death of Joseph, 
in 1777, Pombal fell into disgrace, and many of the persons 
connected with the conspirators, who had been imprisoned 
fromi the time of the discovery, were released. The ene.- 
mies of Pombal did not, however, succeed in exculpating 
the principal agents, though a decree was passed in 1781, 
to declare the iunoceQceof those who had be^n released 
from prison. Carvalho was banished to one of his estates^ 

1 Pliny, XXXIV. S.^Faseli's Lecturefi XiCCtarel. 



135 P O M B A L. 

vAiere he-died in May llS2y in his eighty-fiftb year. Hia 
character, as was mentiotied above, v?as varioasiy repr««^ 
sented, but it was generally allowed that he possessed great 
abilities. A book entitled ^* Memoirs of the Marquu of 
Pombal,'' was published at Paris in 1783, in four volaiDe^ 
1 2ino, but it is not esteemed altogether impartial.' 

POMET (Peter), born April 2, 1658, obtained great 
wealth in the profession of a wholesale druggist ; and being^ 
appointed to superintend the materia medica in the king*» 
gardens, drew up a catalogue of ail the articles in that col-*- 
Section, with some that were preserved in cabinets, undar 
the title of " Histoire generale des Drogues," folio, which^ 
besides passing through some editions4n the original, waa 
translated into. English in 1725„ 4to. He died Nov. IS, 
1699, in his forty-first year, and the very day that the 
king sent him an order for a pension. His work was re*- 
published by bis son in 17S5, i9 two volumes, 4to, but the 
engravings in this edition are not thought so good as m 
die first.* 

POMEY (Francis), a Jesuit, most known for his << Pan^ 
tfaeum mythicum,'* of which his French biographers assert 
that an ** Englishman, named Tooke, gave a translation, 
prefixing his own name, without that of the author;'' and 
this book has gone through a vast number of editions. 
He died at Lyons, in 1673, at an advanced age. He had 
been employed as a teacher of youth in that city, and mosfr 
Ckf his works are formed for the use of students. They con- 
tist of, a large dictionary, since superseded by that of Jou« 
bert; a small ope in 12mo, entitled *^FIqs Latinitatis ;'* 
*^ Indiculus univers$ilis," a kind of nomenclator ; colloquies; 
a treatise on particles ; and another on the funerals of the 
anciepts; with a work on rhetoric. Pomey was well versed 
ID the Latin authors, but his publications would have been 
more valuable had he been more attentive to method land 
exactness.' 

POMFRET (JoHK), an English poet, was son of Mr. 
Pomfret, rector of Luton in Bedfordshire^ and formerly of 
Trinity college, Cambridge. He was born about 1667. He 
was edaeated at a grammar-school in the country, and 
thence sent to Queen's college, Cararbridge, whe^e he took 
his bachelor's degree in 1684, and that of master in 1C98. 
He then went iqto orders, and was presented to the living 

} Diet. Hist, t tXvTf IKok. Hist de Mtdieiae. * Diet. Hist; 



P M F R E T. 139 

^ Mdden in Bedfordshire Aboitt 170?, be qftvae u^ to 
Lonileii for ioatitution xq » li^rger wA v^ry oontider&ble 
i'mn^ ; hut vas 9top|»ed K»i9e tim^ by ComptoPy then 
bishop of London* on. appouot pf tbes^ four lifici of hi# 
poem entitled "The Choice:" 

*^ And IIS I xne^ approapb*d the vey]ge of life. 

Some kind relation (for 1 *d have no wif^) 

Should take upon him all my worldly care^ 

While I did for a better state prepare." 
The parenthesis in these lines was so malicioasly re- 
presented, that the good bishop was made to believe from 
it, that PomiVet prefered a mistress to a wife; though no 
such meaning pan be deduced, unless it be asserted, tbs^t 
an unmarried clergyman cannot live without a mistress. 
But the bishop was soon convinced, that this representation 
was nothing more than the effect of ms^lice, as Pomfret at 
that time was actually married. . The opposition, however, 
which his slanderers had given him, was not without effect; 
for, being obliged on this occasion to s<ay in London longer 
than he intended, he caught the small-pox, and died of it, 
in 1703, aged thirty- five. 

A volume of his poems was published by himself in 
1699, with a very modest and sen&ible preface. Two 
pieces of his were published after his death by a fi*iend 
under the name of Philalethes ; one called " Reason,'* and 
^written in 1700, when the disputes about the Trinity ran 
high ; the other, " Dies Novissima,'* or, "The Last Epi- 
phany,'' a Pindaric ode. His versification is sometimes 
not unmusical ; but there is not the force in his writing^ 
which is necessary to constitute a poet. A dissenting 
teacher of his name, and who published some rhimes upon 
spiritual subjects, occasioned fanaticisdd to be imputed to 
him; but from this his friend Philalethes has justly cleared 
Tiim„ Pomfret had a very strong mixture of devotion in 
him, but no fanaticism. 

" The Choice,'* says Dr. Jolmson, '* exhibits a system of 
life adapted to common uotions, and equal to common ex* 
pectatibns ; such a state as affords plenty and tranquillity, 
without exclusion of intellectual pleasures. Perhaps no 
composition in pur language has been oftener perused than 
Pomfret's * Choice.* in his other poems there is an easy 
volubility ; the pleasure of smooth metre is afforded tq tbe 
'Mr, and the mind is not oppressed with ponderous, oi^ en- 
tangled wit;h intri^SLt^ s^tio^qnt. He pleasea many, apd 
he who. pleases many must have merit,*' 



140 P O M F R E T. 

' His son, Jo)aN, had the office of Rouge-croix in the be*^ 
raids' c^ce^ and wrote some satirical verses on the removal 
of the family portraits of the Howards from the hall of the 
heralds' college to Arundel castle. ' He died March 24, 
1751, aged forty-nine.* 

POMMERAYE (Dom. John Francis), a laborious Be- 
nedictine of the congregation de St. Maur, was born in 
1617, at Rouen. After a suitable education, he refused 
all offices in his order, that he might devote himself wholly 
to study. He died of an apoplexy at the house of the 
learned M. Bulreau, to whom he was paying a visit, Oct. 
28, 1687, aged seventy. His works are, '^ L'Histoire de 
FAbbayede S. Ouen de Rouen, folio; and a "history, of 
the Archbishops of Rouen,^' folio, which is his best work. 
He published also a " Collection of the Councils and 
Synods of Rouen," 4to; " L'Histoire de la Cath6drale de 
Rouen," 4to; " Pratique journaliere de I'Aumone," a small 
took, exhorting to give alms to those who beg for the poor. 
This Benedictine's works are not written in a pleasing style, 
nor are they every where accurate, but they contain many 
curious observations." 

POMPADOUR (Jane, Antoinette, Poisson,) mar- 
chioness of, the celebrated mistress of Louis XV. was the 
daughter of a. financier, and early distinguished by the 
beauty of her person, and the elegance of her talents. 
She was married to a M. d'Etioles when she attracted the 
notice of the king, and becoming his mistress, was created 
marchioness of Pompadour in 1745. Her credit was abun- 
dant, and she employed it chiefly in the patronage of ta- 
lents, in all branches of the polite arts. She collected alsp 
a cabinet of books, pictures, and various curiosities. She 
died in 1764, at the age of forty-four; and, it is said, with 
much more resignation than could have been expected of a 
person so little advanced in years, and so situated. Two 
spurious works have been attributed to her since lier death, 
the one, a set of " Memoirs," in two volumes, Svo ; the 
other, a collection of " Letters," in three volumes, which 
have at least the merit of painting her character with skill. 
The memoirs attribute to her, in conformity with the po- 
pular ideas, much more influence than she actually pos- 
sessed.' . 

^ Johnson's Livea.— -Gibber's Lives.— Cole's MS Atbeoae in Brit, Mtis.-^ 
Noble's College of Arms. 
* Moreri.— Diet. Hist. » Diet. Hist, in art. Poisson. 



P O M P E I. 141 

POMPEI (Jerome), an Italian poet and a man of let-' 
ters, was born of a noble family at Verona in 1731. He 
became an early proficient in classical literature, particu* 
larly the Greek, of which he was enthusiastically fond, and 
attained an excellent style. At this period the marquis 
Maffei and other eminent literary characters were residerit 
at Verona, in whose society the talents of Pompei received 
the most advantageous cultivation. He was first known as 
an author by "<3anzoni Pastorali," in two vols. 8vo. Able 
critics spoke in the highest terms of these pieces, on ac« 
count of their sweetness and elegance : it was thought by 
some good judges that they were never surpassed by any 
productions of the kind. He next translated some of the 
Idylls of Theocritus and Moschus, in which he exhibited a 
very happy selection of Italian words, corresponding with 
the Greek. The next object of his attention was dramatic 
poetry, in the higher departments of which the Italians 
were at that time very deficient, and he published in 1768 
and 1770, his tragedies of " Hypermestra" and "Calli- 
rhoe,^' which were represented with great success in several 
cities of the Venetian state. He now employed several 
years on a translation of " Plutarch's Lives," which ap- 
peared in 1774 in four vols. 4 to. This work gave him con- 
siderable reputation as a prose writer and scholar, and it 
ranks among the very best classical versions in the Italian 
language. In 1778 he published two volumes of " Nuove 
Ganzoni Pastorali :" he also published poetical versions of 
the *' Hero and Leailder of Musaeus;" of the " Hymns of 
Callimachus ;" "A hundred Greek Epigrams;" and the 
" Epistles of Ovid." He was a member of some of the 
academies,, and he served his native city in the capacities 
of secretary to the tribunal of public safety, and to the 
acadenay of painting. He died at Verona in 1790, at the 
age of fiftyruine, and his memory was honoured by various 
public testimonies, and by the erection of bis bust in 6ne 
of the squares of the city. He was highly respected and 
esteemed, as well for his morals as for his literary taleuts, 
and his fame was not limited to the confines of Italy. An 
edition of his works was published after his death in six 

vols. SVO.' J . . : ' 

POMPEY, or P0MPEIUS (Cnbius), surnamed Mag- 
Rus, ot the Greaty was of a noble Roman family, the son 

, * • ■ ft ' 

* F^brooi Vitae ItalQruaii vol. XV, — Athenaeum, vol. IV, 



H2 P O M P E Y. 

of Po^peiQs Strabo, and Lticiii«. Me was born I&6 daine 
year with Cicero^ but nine motilhs iater^ fiameijF, tn.ebe 
consulship of Cepio and Seaanusi 106 years before, the 
Christian si'a. His father wasa general of great abilities^ 
and under bioi be learned the art of war. When be was 
only twenty-three be raised three legions, which be led to 
Sylla. Three years after^ be drove the oppooents of 8yUa 
froBi Africa And Sicily. Young as be was» be bad already 
won the soldiers sufficiently, by his miidDdss* and military^ 
talentSi to e Jccite the jealousy of Sylla, who therefore re^ 
called hinti to Rdooe* His sbldiers would have detained 
biiB in spite of the dicDator'a orders^ but he obeyed, and 
was rewarded on his arrival by the name of Magnus, given 
him by Sylla, and soon after eonfirmed unantniously by hi^ 
countrymen. He obtained also the honours of a triumph^ 
which the dictator permitted raliber unwillingly, and was 
the first instance of a Roman kmgbt,- who. had not risen to 
any magistracy, being advanced to that elevation. Tbia 
was in 8 1 B^ C. In a short time,, be had obtuoled as moob 
power by the voluntary favour of the people, as Sylla hod 
i>efo«e by arms : and aftef the death of tlMt extraordinary 
man, obligefd Lepidus to quit Rome^ and then unidertook 
the warngaittst Sertoriild in Spaib, which be .brought to i» 
fOrtuuate conclusion* For this victory he triumphed a se^ 
eodd time, B. C. 73, being still only in the rank of a kni^bt; 
Not long afterwards he w^ chosen consuh. In that office 
be re- established the power of the tribunes; ^lidL, in the 
eourse of a few years, ext^fmiinated the pirates who in-f. 
fested the Mediterra^eiln^ gained great advaititages against 
Tlgfanes and Mitbridates, and carried bis. victorious arms 
into Media, Albania, Iberia^ and the most important parts 
of Asia ; and so extended the boundaries of the Roman 
empire, that Asia Minor,: which before formed the extre^ 
mity of M provinc^es, now became, in a manner, the centre 
of tbem. When he returned to receive a triumph for these 
victories, he courted popularity by dismissing his troops 
and entering the city as a private citizen. He triumpbed 
with great splendour ; but not feeling his influence such as 
be bad hoped, he united witb Gaosar and Grassus to form 
the first triumvirate. He strengthened his utiion with 
CaeMr by marrying bis daiigbter Julia ; be was destined 
nevertheless to find in Csesar not a friend, but too auccessi* 
ful a rival. While Caesar was gaining in his long Gallic 
wars a fame and a power that were soon to be invincible, 



P M P £ Y. 143 

Pompey was eadeavonriilg to cultivate his poptiUtrity and 
inflaeDce in Rome. Ere long tbey took directly contrary 
pai^es. Pompey became the hope and the support of the 
patrtoiaos and tbe senate^ while C»sar was the idol of the 
people. On the retam of the latter from Gaul, in the 
year 51 A. C. the civil war broke out^ which terminated^ 
as is well known, by tbe defeat of Pompey in the battle of 
Pharsalia, A. C. '49. and the base assassination of him by 
the officers of Ptolemy in Egypt. It appears that Pompey 
had not less ambition than Csssar, but was either more 
acrapuions, or less sagacious and fortunate in his choice of 
means to gratify that passion. He was unwilling to throw 
off the mask of virtue and moderation, and hoped to gatft: 
every thing by intrigue and tbe appearance of transcendanfi 
iDerit. In this he might have beeA successful, had he not 
been opposed to a man whose prompt and decisive mea*-» 
sures disconcerted his secret plans, drove things at once to^ 
extremities, and forced him to have recourse to the deci-> 
aion of arms, in which victory declared against him. Tbe 
moderate men, and those who were sincerely attached to 
tbe repuUie of Rome, dreaded, almost equally, the succes9 
of Pompey and of C»sar. Cato^ who took the mourning 
habit on the breaking out of the civil war, had resolved 
upon death if Csesar should be victorious, and exile if suc-> 
<sess should declare for Pompey.* 

POMPiONAN (John James le Franc), marquis of, a 
French nobleman, still more distinguished by his talents in 
poetry than by bis rank, was born at Montauban in 1709. 
He was educated for tbe magistracy, and became advocate'*> 
general, and first president of the court of aids at Mont- 
auban* liis indination for poetry, however, could not be 
repressed, and at tbe age of twenty- five be produced his 
tragedy of ^ Dido," in which he approved himself ^ not only 
one of the most successful imitators of Racine, but an able 
and elegant poet. After this success at Paris, he returned 
to his duties at Montauban, which he fulfilled in the most 
nprigbt manner ; bat having suflFered a short exile, on ac« 
coimt of some step which displeased the court, he became 
digosted with the office of a magistrate. As he bad row 
|ilsa increased his foftune by an advantageous matriage, he 
^eteMttined to remove to Paris, where at first he was re- 
ceived as his virtues -and his talents deserved. His sincere 

1 Plntarob.— RoBaaii^liitorj. 



144 1» O M P I G N A N. 

attachment to Christianity brought upon hixn a perseetttion 
from. the philosophiste, which, after a.time, drove him 
back to the country. . Voltaire and his associates had now 
inundated France with their deistical tracts; the mate* 
rialism of Helvetius in his book, de PEsprit, had just beea 
brought forward in the most triuoiphani manner ; the ene- 
mies of Christianity had filled the Enct/clopBdie with the. 
poison of their opinions, and had by their intrigues formed 
a powerful party in the French academy, when the mar- 
quis of Pompignan was admitted as an academician,.. in 
1760. He had the courage, at his admission, to .pronounce 
a discourse, the object, of which was to prove that the man 
of virtue and religion is the only true philosopher. Froin 
this moment he was the object of perpetual persecution «r 
Voltaire and his associates were indefatigable in. poarmg 
out satires against him : his religion was called hypocrisy^ 
and his public declaration in its favour an attempt to gain 
the patronage of certain leading men. These accusations^ 
as unjust as they were illiberal, mingled with every. species 
of sarcastic wit, had the effect of digusting the worthy mar-, 
quis with Paris. He retired to his estate of Pompignan^ 
where he passed the remainder ofhis days in the practice of 
a true philosophy, accojnpanied by sincere piety,; and died 
of. an apoplexy in 1784, at the agie of seventy-five, most 
deeply regretted by his neighbours, and dependents. The 
shameful treatment of this excellent man, by the sect 
which then reigned in the. academy, is a strong illustration 
of that, conspiracy against religion, so ably detailed by M. 
Barruely in the first volume of his Memoirs of Jacobinism. 
V^henonce he had declared himself a zealous Christilan no. 
merit was allowed him, nor any effort spared to overwheltn 
him with disgrace and mortification. His compositions ne^ 
vertheless were, and are, esteemed by. impartial judges. 
His " Sacred Odes," notwithstanding the sarcasm of Vol- 
taire, ^^ sacred they are, for no one touches them." abooiul 
in poetical spirit, and lyric beauties ; though it is con- 
fessed also that they have their inequalities.. His^^Dls* 
courses imitated,, from the books of Solomon," contain 
important moral truths, delivered with elegance^ and 
frequently with energy.. His imitation of the Georgics of 
Virgil, though inferior to that of the abb^ De Lille (iwhose 
versification is the richest and most energetic of modem 
French writers), has yet considerable merit : and His 
** Voyage de Languedoc," though not equal, in easy and 



OMPIGVAMl us 

Unify nagB^ncd to that of ChipeHa, is' cAfierioe in «lb* 
ginee, toi^wtness^ and Taiiety. He wrote ai«o soaM' 
(^ras which werginot acted ; and a conMdjr io Terae,. ih^ 
dhe act, catted -^^ Lea Adieux de Man,'' which waa repve* 
seMedl wiih soccesB at the Italian comic tbealve in FWitw 
'the HMUNjOid of Pompignaii was distiDguisbed abo as a wvh 
1^ iti prode. His ^^ Euit^inm on the Dake of Bnngiindy,^^ 
18. written with an affecting sioiplioity. His <<i)iaKirta« 
tba^i'* his ^' Letter to the younger Racine,^' and his << Aca- 
demical DiscouFses/' all prove a soond judgaient, a eomct- 
taste^ and a- genins improved bj careful stwiy of the elassie 
models. He produced also a ^' Translation of some dia^ 
l^l^lefi 6t Ltdcian/* and some '^Tragedies of JSschylus,'* 
vi^ich am very general^ esteemed. He was allowed ta 
be cmaa of vast literature, and almost universal knofsfedge 
in the ine mKs. Yet sncfa a man was to be ilJU treated^ and 
orotbed if possible, because he had the ^rtoe to declare 
^liaMelf a paftiaan cKf religion* . Even his enemies, arid th# 
most indexible of them, Vokaiffe, were unable tp deny the 
mevit of some of his poettcal compositions. The following 
stanza in particoUr, ifi ^< An Ode on the Death pf Rous<r 
seaoj" obtained a triumph for him in defiance of prejudice. 
The intwfttion seems to be to illustrate the vMxity of those 
who speak against religion : 

' ^LeNila vii ser'sa^rivi^eff 
. V Be noifs hibltans das deserts 
InnUler par teiurs (^ 8«iivag«s 
L*Astre&]at^t 4e ruQivers, 
Cris impiijfgflans ! fuiyuys bizarrgs ! 
Tandis que ces moiistres barbares 
Poussoient d'insoleutes claxpeurs, 
Le IMeu^ poursuivaht sa carriere^ 
Venelt des torrens de lumieitt 



t» 



Sur ses otacaia btanpb^matenrs 

" Thus on the bofdera of the Nile, the black inhabitants 
inseU by their swage eries the ^r of day. Vain qries^ 
and capnoious'liiry ! Bot whiie these barbarous moinsteva 
send' up their insolent chunonr^ 4be God, purs«ing hia 
oareer, poura floods of light upon his dusky blaspbeipeFs*?* 
*^^l have chardiy ev<«r seen,^' says M/ la Harpey !^|ii^ 
gaaadiar idea, ^presseii^ by a more noMe unagi^, nor wilk 
a 4bore imprisssive h|«mony of fengai^ge. I racitei^ the^ 
pesiBg# one day toVfdtacfe, who aokaowledged tb%t it. 
united all the qualities of the subliipe ; and^ when I named 
the ajtithor, still praised it more.** 

Vol. XXV. L 



146 P O M P I G N A N. 

The marquis's brother, John Georgk Le Franc, a pre-*' 
late of great merit, waa ^archbishop of Vienne, and like 
him combated the principles . of the . philosophists., .He 
wrote various caatrbversialand devotional works, and some, 
of another description, asf "A. Critical Essay on the p^e-. 
sent State of the Republic of Letters," 1743 ; " Pastoral 
Instructions for the Benefit of the new CoBverts within bia 
Diocese j " Devotion not at, enmity wiUi Wit and Genius.;" 
^.< Mandates prohibiting the Reading of the Works of Rous-*^ 
seau and tbe Abbd Raynal;." He died, in 1 7 90, soon after 
the revolution had begun its destructive work, which be ia 
vain endeavoured to resist. ^ . >. , 

' POMPONATIUS (Peter), a modem Aristotelian, wa^ 
born at Mantua tn 1462. He d^ivered lectures on^ the 
philosophy of Aristotle and Averroes at Padva and Bologna^ 
where his eloquence and talents procured hi|n many audi- 
tors. He was at Bologna when he composed .bis cele-. 
brated little treatise ^^ De immortalitate Anim»,'' in whkh. 
he was supposed to call in question the immortality .of .the 
soul, at least he maintained that all natural reason waa 
s^ainst it, but rev^tion for it, and upon the latter account 
be believed it It is probable, however, that the iatpves- 
sion it made on the public mind was not very favourable to 
the received opinions, as pope Leo X. thought itnecessaiy 
to suppress the work by a bull ; and it was at his request 
that Augustine Nipbus wrote a treatise with the same title, 
^* De immortalitate Animae,^' in which he undertook to 
prove that this, doctrine kr not contrary to the principles of 
the Aristotelian philosophy. Some time after, Pompona- 
tius's opinions were referred to tbe arbitration of Bembus, 
who endeavour^ to justify him, and succeeded so far as to 
obtain permission for him to issue a second edition of the 
work, as well as to save the author from the vengeance 
of the church. Brucker is of opinion that notwithstanding 
Pomponatius's. pretences, he had more respect for the au-r. 
thority of Aristotle, than for that of Jesus Christ. Ho 
addsj that though much addicted to superstitioQ and fana:- 
ticism, and a zealous advocate for judicial astrology, qs 
appears from his book .<< De Incantatioi;iibus,^' ^^ On £a*- 
<jiantmeats," be had an understanding capajl>le of peoe- 
.traling into the depths of the Peripatetic system, in ihe 
study of which he chiefly followed, tbe coikmeiuariea o£ 

1 Dwt Hist. 



POMPON ATI U S. 147 

Afdirodisflens. His writings^ though barbaroifs und .inele-* 
gant in style, discover great acuteoew and s^^btlety of 
thought/ He also wrote a treatise on ^* Fate and Free will.'* 
He died in 1525. He had many followers of great cele- 
brity; among whom were Simon Porta, Julius Caesar Sea* 
]iger, and Lazarus Bonamicus. Vanini, the Atheist, is 
said by some to have been his pupil ; but this is impossible, 
for Pomponatius died in the year 1525, and Vanini was not 
born till the year 1586. . . 

The first edition of Pomponatius '^ De Immortalitatej" a 
copy of which is in Mr. Gressweirs possession^ is without 
date ; but the colophon informs us, that the author com- 
pleted it in 1516. The first with a date, and along with 
bis other tracts, is that of Venice 1525, folio ; the second, 
of the << De immortalitate'' only, is that of 1534, 12mo.^ 

POMPONIUS MELA. See MELA. 

POMPONIU8 LJETUS (Julius), an eminent Italian 
antiquary, all whose names were of his. own choice, was 
the illegitimate offspring of the illustrious house of Sanse- 
verino, in the kingdom of Naples; but this was a circum* 
•stance on which he preserved an inflexible silence^ and ad- 
intued no conversation or questions on the subject. Evjen 
• when that family sent him an invitation to reside with them, 
he rejected it by a laconic note which is preserved by Tira«- 
boschi : '^ Pomponius Lsetus cognati^ et propinquis suis 
-salutem. Quod petitis fieri non potest. Valete.'' *^ Pom- 
ponius LsBtus to his kinsmen and relations : what you ask 
'camiot be' granted. Farewell." He went young to Rome, 
where be studied first undei: a very able grammarian of that 
time, Pietro'da Monopoli, and afterwards under Laurentius 
Valla. On the death of this eminent scholar in 1457, he 
was thought qualified to succeed him in his professorship. 
He now began to found an academy, the members of which 
.were men of letters, fond of antiquary researches, like him- 
self, but who sometimes entered upon philosophical dis- 
. f nssions* They were mostly young men, and in their zeal 
lor past times^ the glorious days of Rome, adopted La- 
tinized names. Our author took that of Pomponius . Lsetus, 
%nd Buonaccorsi that of Callimachus Experiens, j^c. In 
fhmr philosophical discussions, they went so far as to com- 
pare ancient with modern institutions, not much to the 
- credit of the latter ; and at length this was represented to 

1 Gen. Diet.-^BracKer.-*Niceroii, toY. XXV.--Grefltwta*f PolitmA.— And 
' Rowoe** Leo, obi plara. 

L2 



i a p Tn p o :n I D 6. 

ptpe ^anl IL (whom we ham recently noticed. as die fierse* 
tUtot of Platiaa) first as inferring a contempt for reUgion ; 
secondly, as an attack on die chnrch ; and hsdy, as a eoo- 
apiracy against the pope hinsself. The pope, either really 
wrmedy or pretending to be so, ordered all the nepuben 
of Ae academy to be arrested^ that could be found, andl 
imprisoned and put them to the torture, of which one rerj- 
pfonri^ing young acholiir died : and although Pomponias 
was at this time (1468) at Venice, and had been indeed 
residing for three years with the Ccnrnaro family, he was 
-dragged in chains to Rone, and ihaned the same horriUe 
ftte as his fellow «cademiciaiis ; and akhoagh, a6er varioiiflt 
^xatnioadons, conducted by the pope himself, no proof of 
giSHt appeared, he and ins eocnpamons remained in con- 
finement a very considerable time. The death of thm 
persecutor, however, restored them to liberty, and it ^was 
«K> inconsiderable testimony 4|f dieir innocence that his suc- 
cessor Siztus IV. equally strict in matters of hereay, made 
Platina librarian of the Vatican, and restored Pomponiusto 
ills professorship, in which office he continued to draw a 
great concourse of scholars. He also endeavoured to revive 
his academy, against which Paul II. had been so inveterate 
^at he forbid its name to be mentioned eilberin jest or 
earnest, *< vel serio vol jooo,*' and we find two grand com- 
'memorations held by the menbera, in 1482 abd 1483 ; the 
one on account of Ibe death of Platina, the oiher to cele- 
%nite the foundatim of Rome. 

Pomponius was never rich, hut it is a Hustafce that be 
died in an hospital. In 1484, during a public cofl(»mo- 
tion, his library and goods were destroyed ; but the loss 
'was soon made up by bis friends and scholars, so that at 
last his homse waa better furnished than before. He was 
-indeed universally esteemed for the ptobity, simplicity, and 
'even the eccasiooal harshness of his manners. He died at 
Rome in 149S, ^nArnM interred with honourable solemnity^ 
He wrote some woA<^ illustrative of the manners, customs, 
-and laws of the Eoman republic, and the state of ancient 
%ome. These are, treatises on the priesthood, the magis- 
trates, the lawsy an abridgment of die history of the em- 
'perors, ftom the death of. the younger Gordianus to the 
• etile of Justin III, all whi<5h sh^w great research and eriy- 
^ 'ditien. He also was a commentator pn some ancient au « 
: ibfiQ ; hp. corrected/or the press the fiot edition pf Sall^ist, 
and collated it with some ant lent MSS. althougb his name 



P O M P D N I U B. 1«9I 

II tiot teefixtioned by our bibUograpfaen. . He extended Iha 
sftiae caore to thvuporiu o€ ColaBaftlla,. Yarro^ Nonius fila^«« 
cdlta^ Plitty the younger, and wrote iMtet on QntndHaiii 
aftd Virgil. His own worb. were collected in one toL ftvo^ 
▼ery* rdre^ printed at Ments, 1 5S launder the title ^ Opera 
Pofii^onii Lesti varia.'"^ 

PONTANUS tJoHN Jo^i^N), a very learned Itidian^ 
was bom at Cerreto, ki Umbria, in 1 42(1, and settled at 
Nkiptesj where bis merit procured bim iliustrioiis friends^ 
He 'becsroie preceptor to Alplionsa the youi^er, kin^ of 
Arragon, to whooi' he was afterwards secretary and coini'^ 
sellor of slate. Having reconciled this prince to his &thet 
Ferdinand, and not being rewarded by the latter as he 
flioiigbt be deserved, he aimed against him ^* A Dialogue 
^u IhgnaliiQde/' in which also he launched oiot into dke 
praises l>f Charles VIII. of France, his great enemy* Fer-^ 
dinand had the magnanimity to despise his censures, and 
iuAir hiia to bold his appointments. Pbntanus died, .ac<^ 
eording to Moreri, in 1503, at the age of seventy-seveo^ 
aecording to others two years later. His epitaph is famoui^ 
and, tbougb vain enough in the beginning, concludes with 
a ^fine thought, which seeos to have suggested the still 
more sublime close of Dr. Foster's epitaph ou himself 

Sum Jobannes Joviantis PontanuSy 
QxxMa a»iareru&t bona Musib^ > 

Suapexerunt nri frobi> 

HoaestavOTunt R^;ea> Domim. 

Sdfl quid sim» aut quia potius fuerim. 

Cgo vero te, Uo&pes^ noscere in tenebris nequeo; 

Sed teipsum ut noscas, rogo.-Vale. 

He wrote the ** History of the Wars of Ferdinand I. and 
John of Anjou,*' and several works in prose, which were 
collected and publis)ied at Venice by D'AsoIa, in 1513^ 
15 IS, in 3 vols. 8vo. His poetical works were published 
by Aldus, in 1505, in 8vo, and again in 1513, 1518, in 2 
vols. Many have considered bim as the most accomplished 
poet and scholar .of bis age; but, like too many scholars, 
he was. infected with the licentiousness which then prcr . 

vailed.* 

• 

1 Tiraboschi.— Ginguen^ Hist. Litt. d*Italie.<— Beloe's Aneodatei.— Chao^ 
fiie^^Jabric. BibV ttt Med: 

* Tvabofcbi.7-ChAttftp2e, — ^Niceron, vob. VIII. and X. — ^Bloant's Censura.-v- 
^oscoe'8 Leo.-^resswen't Pdlitian, &c.— GiDgaene Hist Litt. d'ltalie.— For 
lut wMrks see Bmnet'i Maoiiel da Libraire. 



l£(a P O N T A N u s. : 

PONTANUS. (John Isaac), hhtoriographer to hi$* 
Danisb majesty, and to the province of Guelderland, was 
of a family of Harlem, but was. born in Denmark, in 1571,^ 
and died in 1640, aged 69, at Harderwick, where he had. 
taught physic and mathematics. His works are, ^^His- 
toria Urbis et Rerum Amstelodamensium," folio; ^^Iti-. 
nerarium' Gallise Narbonehsis," l2mo; ^* Rerum Danica- 
rum Historia,!' .folio. This history, , which is esteemed, 
comes dewn to 1548 ; and M. de Westphal, chancellor of 
Holstein, printed the Supplement in vol. II. of his ^* Monu-* 
menta inedita Rerum Germanicarum,'' &c. Leipsic^ 1740,. 
folio; which includes the reigns of Christiern.I. and the 
five succeeding kings, with a life of Pontanus. , Pontanus 
wrote also, ^^ De Rbeni divortiis et accolis populis adversus 
Ph. Cluverium,'' 1617, 4to, a learned and judicious work ; 
*^ Discussiones Hist;oric8s," 8vo ; *^ Historia Geldrica,'' fol.; 
•* Origines Francicae," 4to ; the " Life of Frederic II. king 
of Denmark," published 1737, by Dr. George Krysing, a 
physician at Flensburg. Pontanus left several other works 
in MS. ; among others, an account of women who have dis- 
tinguished themselves by their. learning. He also wrote, 
some very iudiffereut verses published at Amsterdam ' ia 
1634, 12mo.* 

PONT AS (John), a celebrated casuist, was born De- 
cenlber 2, 1638, at St. Hilaire de Harcourt, in the diocese 
of Avranches. He completed his studies at Paris, took 
holy orders at Toul in 1663, was admitted doctor of canon 
and civil law three years after, and appointed vicar of St. 
Genevieve at Ps^ris. After be had zealously discharged 
the duties of this situation for twenty-five years, he became 
sub-penitentiary of Paris, and died in that city, April 27^ 
1728, aged ninety, leaving a large *^ Dictionary of CaseA 
of Conscience ;'' the most complete edition of which is that 
of 1741, 3 vols, folio. M. Collet has published an abndge-r 
jnent of it in two volumes, 4to. His other works are, 
'^ Scriptura sacra ubique sibi constans,'* quarto ; in which 
he reconciles the seeming contradictions in the Penta-; 
teuch ; <* Les entretiens spirituels pour iAstruire, e^horter, 
et consoler les Mstlades ;" s^nd a great number of other re- 
ligious books. * 1 

PONTAULT (Sebastian Beaulieu de), an eminent 
French engineer, is considered as the first military topo? 

1 Chaufepie.— Kiceron, vol. XXXlf.--Moreri« • Moreri.— Diet. Hist.. 



P O NT A U LT. 151 

Ifrapbeir, or rather as the Itivehtor of that art» in the time 
of Louis XIV. , It was bis practice to follow the armyy 
and coAstriict upon the spot plans of the battles and sieges^ 
with historical and perspective accompaniments. We find 
many of his plans in the << GEvre de Delle-Bella ;" but 
his most important work is entitled <^ Les glorieuses Con- 
qolgtes de Louis-le-Grand : ou Recueil de Plans et Vues 
4es places assiege^s, et de celles ou se sont donne6s des 
hataiUes, avec des Discours/* 2 vols, folio. This worky 
one of the most magnificent of the kind, comprehends all 
the operations of war, from the battle of Roeroi, in 1643, 
to the taking of Namur, in 169^. De Pontault died in 
1674; but the work was completed to the above date at 
the expence of his niece, the widow of the sieur Des 
Roches. This edition is usually called the Gr^nd Beaulieu^ 
todistingu^^ it from one on .a reduced 8cale> in oblQng 
•quarto, cal ;d the Fetit Beaulieu, of which there ^re two 
series, onqin three volumes, comprehending views of the 
actions in the .Netherlands; the other in four, which in«- 
.<;ludes those* of France. From the death of this abie^drafi^s- 
nao, military jtopography is said to have been prod^uctive of 
^'very few good specimens in France, until witliin the last 
fifty, years. 

'Perrault informs us, that Pontault went into the army at 
the age of fifteen, and behaved with so. much spirit at the 
siege of Rochelle, that the Cing gave him the post of com- 
missary of artillery, although then so young. He wa$^aCter- 
wards present at most of the battles and sieges which be has 
described, ai^d did not quit a military life until the Iqss of 
«an arm and other wounds, with the approach of old age, 
rendered retirement necessary. ^ 

PONT£ (Francis da), one of a family of artists, was 
-originally of Vicenza, but settled at Bassano, a small town 
on the Brenta, whence he was called Bassan, or Bassano. 
Be may be considered as the head pf the Bassanese school : 
and his ed4icalion is said to have been sufficiently le^rqed. 
The different styles that discriminate his works clearly shew 
which were the fixst and which the la^t IJeis diligent, but 
dry, in the St. Bartolomeo of the cathedral, more genial 
and mellow in another picture of the cb.urchi>f S. Giovanni 
at Bassano : but in the Pentecost whigh he painted in the 
v^illage of Olero, he shews himself alo^ost a modern painter; 

; Biog. UolT. art, Beanliea;— PemniU Lei Hommef lUostren 



waa. 



Ut PONTE. . 

the arnmgenilBnt is masterly; ibm cokmr kts f«aHiy» Tft* 
rietjr^ li^moiiy^> tibe eipressiod is warfn, . pleasing^ atid 
eharacMrislie of tlie lujb^ject. He Was the father aini fica( 
instmctor of Jacob da Ponte. He died about 1 5 SO. ^ 

t^ONTE (Jacob da), cilled also II Bassano, aod IMm 
BAS9AN Vj&CGma, 4rsU born at Bassino, ISIO, aod iaitia^ 
in thd finit principle of the art by his fadier, of iMch tbm 
proefc are hU earliest works in the church of S^ Bernard 
dlno. He weat to Venice/ recommended to BonifiudQ^ 4 
fisaftter not lesis> jealous of his 'mystery* than Titian or 
Tintoretto ; so that JiaCob saw little mor6 of bis method 
than what he could discover through a key-bole or a cre^- 
Vice« The short time he staid at Venice was empbyed 
•drawinjgfrotii the designs of Parmegiano, and in making co^ 
pies firaoa the pictures of Bonifazio and Titian, whose scho^ 
iar he is even called in some MS. and not without probabi* 
lity, if conformity of manner were sufficient to prove it, ao 
mtich does his second siyleresemble that of Titian. Thed^fath 
t)f his father obliged him to return and to fix himself at Basi- 
i^a'ao, a small opulent towh surrounded by a picturesque 
^country, abounding in cattle Mid pastures, and coavenL- 
ently situated for mari^ets and fairs: from which objects 
arose his third style, natural, simple, and pleasing, th^ 
Itsdian prelude' to that which aftenirards distinguished the 
FlemijA school. In the handling of the pencil he had two 
imethods r one highly finished^in blended tints, and only «t 
last decided by bolder touches; the second, which must 
be the testtlt of the first, was formed of simple pencil* 
trtrokes, and dashes of gay and lucid tints, laid on with* 
eonscious power, and a kind of contemptuous security, 
which, on close inspection, appear a confused mass, at a 
distance from a magic charm of colours. His composition 
in both is the same, and peculiar to himself, blendmg ciiv 
cttlar with triangular forms^ and the most contrasted pos- 
tures with paraUel lines. He veils his light, and by its sq-> 
het distribution, the frequent tisO of demi^rii^ts, and little 
or no black, contrives to produce harmony finom the asoat 
opposite colours. Iti the degradation of his lights, hedfteo 
tnakes the shade of ao interior figure serve for the ground 
of an exterior one, and strikes the strongest lights od the 
most angular parts, such as the top of tte sboulden, the 
knei?, the elbows. His drapery, simple in appearance, is 

I Filki^gtoDy by Faielt; 



P O N T E. . ISI 

disfio^ed with ^remt art for tbis purp^Nie^ and the Md% lire 
vArii^ according to the difference of the «tufi« with ua^ 
usual fefinement. His colours even bow have the brilliancy 
of genu^ especially the greets which bas.ae emerald lustr« 
peculiar to himself 

In the beginning he aimed at grandeur of style, and left 
some traces of it in certain pictures still existing in frdnt 
of the house Michieli, chiefly remarkable for a figure of 
Slunson slaying the Philistines, with a flerceness not un* 
worthy of Midiael Angela But whether prompted by 
nature or judgment, he soon con6ned himself to smaller 
proportions and subjects of less energy* Even in altar* 
pieces bis.6gures aie generally below the natural size, and 
sddom much alive ; so that some one said, the elders of 
Tintoretto hfkd all the rage of youth, and the youth of Bas^ 
saoo all the apathy of age. His situation, d>e monotoor 
and floeanneas of the objects that surrounded, him, limited 
his ideas, debased bis fancy, and caused frequent repeti«- 
tidnr of the. same sobjects without much variation. He bad 
contracted the habit of working at his ease in his study 
assisted by his scholars, and of dispatching the produce 
10 Venice, or the most« frequented fairs. Hence those 
swarms of pictures of all sizes, which make it less a boast 
for a collector to possess a Bassan, than a disgrace not to 
have one. The Banquet of Martha and the Pharisee^ the 
Prddigal Son, Noah's Ark, the Return of Jacobs the An- 
nunciation to the Shepherds, the Queen of Sbeba, the 
Three Magi, the Seizure of Christ, and the taking down 
from ihe Cross by torch-light, nearly coimpose the series 
of his sacred subjects. The profane ones consist chiefl|r 
in markets, rustic employments, kitchens, larders, &o. 
His daughters generally sat for his females, whether queens, 
Magdalens, or country wenches. The grand objection to 
his workii b a repetition of similar conceits ; but these, it 
must be allowed, he carried to a high degree of perfec- 
tion. He lived equally employed by the public and the 
great, and highly esteemed, . if not by Vasari, by the most 
celebrated of his contemporaries and rivals, Titian, Titlr 
toretto, Annibai Caracci, and Paul Veronese. He died 
in 1592, aged eighty*two, le|iviag four sons, Francis, 
Lsander, John Baptist,, and Jerom ; all of whom preserved 
the reputation of the family, in a considerable degree, for 
4Dany years. ' 

^ PSUH&gtoa, by Fmli.-^-D'ArgeiiTUIe, T^. I.-^ir J. lUyaol Js^ Wotkft. > 



154 PONTIUS. 

• PON*riUS' (CoKStantine), a Spanish divine and mar-* 
tyr^ <;aHed also De Fuekte^ was a native of the town of St. 
Clement, in New Castiife, 9Sad was educated at the univer* 
sity of- ValladoHc), where he Jbeca^ie an excellent Jjnguist. 
After taking his doctor^s degree he obtained a canonry in 
the metropolitan church of Seville, and was made theologi- 
cal professor in that city. '• His learning and eloquence 
becoming known, he was appointed preacher to the eai- 
peror Charles V. and afterwards to his son Philip 11.^ 
tvholn he attended into England, where he imbibed the 
principles of theRefoiaaation. After his return to Spain^ \ 
he resumed ' bis employment of preacher at Seville, where 
the change in bis sentiments was first suspected, and then 
discovered by a treacherous seizure of his papers. He 
did not, however, affect any denial, but boldly avowed his 
principles, and was therefore thrown into prison, where.be 
was kept for two years, and would have been burnt sdive, to 
which punishment he was condemned, had he not died- of 
e dysentery, occasioned by the excessive heat of his place^of 
cohfinement, and the want of proper food. This hap- 
jpened the day before bis intended execution, and his ene* 
'faiies not only reported that he had laid violent hands on 
iiimself, to escape the disgrace, but burnt nis remains and 
effigy, having first exposed them in a public procession, 
^s an author, bis works were *' Commentaries*' ou the 
-Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, and Job; 
^* A Summary of the Christian Doctrine ;"' ** Sermons,*' 
and other smaller pieces.^ . , 

PONTOPPIDAN (Eaic), bishop of Bergen, who was 
'born in 1698, at Aarhuus, in Denmark, and died in 1764» 
wrote several works respecting the history and geography 
^f that kingdom ; one of which, his <^ History of Norway,?' 
<was translated into English in 1755. His other publica- 
tions are less known in this country.-*-He must be disting- 
uished from another Danish writer of both his names^ 
(author of a Danish grammar, a collection of epigrams and 
other articles of Latin poetry. He was born in 1616, and 
-died in 1678. • 

'. PONTORMO. See CARRUCCL ^ 

, POOL, or POOLE (Matthew), a learned .Noncm- 
fomiist, was born in the city of York in 1624. He was 
the son of Francis Pool, esq. by a daughter of alder«*> 
man Toppin of York, and was descended from the ancient 
faniljref the Pools or Tooles, of l^rinkbill, in Derbyshire^ 

1 6«D. Diet — Mcreri.— Bea« Icones. ' Moreri.— 'Diet. Hiit. 



POOL. 1«: 

but his grandfather, being obliged to lei^ye tliil^ollmtjr fin 
account of bis attachment to tb'i reforiiiatiini^> lived «t SUie^; 
bouse, .and afterwards at Drax*^abbey, in Yorkshire. Our 
author was educated at EmaBttelrcoUege, Cambridge, un-> 
der the leaf oed Pt. Wimfaington, and took the degree o£ 
H« A. in which be was incorporated at Oxford/ July 14^ 
^tift57« - Having long before this adopted the prevailipg no- 
tions during the usurpation, concerning ecclesiastical po- 
lity, on the presbyterian plan, he was ordained according 
to ; the forms, then used; and about 1648, was appointed 
rector or rather minister of St. Michael le Querne, in Loa- 
don, in which he succeeded Dr. Anthony Tuckney. 
' His first publication appeared in 1654, against the So- 
cmian tenets of John BiddJe, and was entitled ** The Blas- 
phemer slain with the sword of the Spirit, or a plea for the 
Godhead: of the Holy Ghost, wherein the- Deity of the 
Spirit is provedj against the cavils of John Biddle,'' I2mo« 
In .1657 be.we.nt to.Oxford, to be present at the instalta^ 
tion of Richard Cromnvell^ w.ho then succeeded his father 
Oliver, a? cbdncelior of that university, and it was upoQ 
this: occasion that Mr.^ Pool was incorporated M.A. , {e 
the following year he published a spb^me of education 
under the title of> ^*. A model for the maintaining of stu« 
dents of choice abilities at the univjersity, and principally 
in order to the ministry. Together with a Preface before 
it, and.after it a recommendation from the^ university ; aal 
two serious exhortations recommended unto all the uii» 
feigned lowers of piety and learning, and more particularlj 
to those rich men who desire to honour the Lord with their 
substance," 1658, 4to. Among the learned persons who 
approved this scheme, we find the names of ^ John Wor« 
thington, John Arrowsmith, Anthony Tuckney,. Benjai;nill 
Whichcot^ Ralph Cudvvorth, and William Dillingham. Its 
-object was to provide a fund, out of which a certain nuin* 
ber of young men might be maintained at the university, 
who could obtain no other maintenance by ej^hibitious, 
scholarships, &c. Dr. Sherlock, afterwa^rds dean of $t» 
Paul's, was indebted to this fund, being supported oat of 
it in taking his bachelor's degree.* The .whole sum raised 
iiras about 90Q/. but the restoration put a stop to any far- 
ther accumulation. . 

In support of the opinions of himself and bis party, be 

published. in 16^9, aletter, in one.sbeet;4to, addressed to 

. die lord Charles Flef^twood^ and delMfered ip him on the 



1*« P O O L- 

l^thof December, Wbtcb related to the juncture of 
at tbat time ; and in the same year appeared *< Quo War-^ 
lanto : a moderate debate about the preaching of tmor^i^ 
daiued persons : election, ordination, and the extent of 
the ministerial relation, in vindication of the Jus Divinam 
Ministerii, from the exceptions of a late piece, entitled 
* The Preacher sent.' " 4to. I A the title-page of this " Quo 
Warranto'' it is said to be written by the appointment of 
the provincial assembly at London. In 1660 be took m 
ihare in the morning exercise, a series of sermons then 
preached by those of the London clergy who were deemed 
puritans; and he contributed some of the most learned and 
argumentative of their printed collection. The same year 
be published a sermon upon John iv. 23, 24, preached be«» 
fore the lord mayor of London at St. Paul's, Aug. 26, in 
the' preface to which he informs us that be printed it exactly 
as it was preached, in conseqtience of some misrepresenta* 
tions that had gone abroad ; one of which, says be, nvat 
*' tbat I wished their fingers might rot that played upon 
the organs.'' This expression be totally denies, but ad« 
fuits that be did dislike and speak against instrumental or 
VocsA music when so refined as to take up the attention of 
the bearers—*" I appeal," he adds', ** to the experience of 
any ingenuous |>erson, whether curiosity of voice and mu^ 
ftical sounds in churches does not tickle the fancy with a. 
carnal delight, and engage a man's ear and most diligent 
attention unto those sensible motions and audible sounds, 
and therefore must necessarily, in great measure, recall hm 
from spiritual communion with God ; seeing the mind of 
man cannot attend to two things at once witb all it's might 
[to each], and when we serve God we must do it witb aH 
our might. And hence it is, that the ancients have some 
of them given this rule; that even vocal singing [in 
churches] should not be too curious, sed legenti simUiar 
fUam canenti. And Paul himself gives it a wipe, Eph. ▼. 19^ 
Speaking to yourselves in psalms^ and hymns^ and spirihttd 
iongs^ making melody in your hearts to the Lord.** Tbam 
aerixfon was revived in 169S, 4 to, witb the title of* A 
reverse to Mr. Oliver's Sermon of Spiritual WorsiiJip.^* 
The descendants of the nonconformists have, however, ia 
our times effectually got rid of their prejudices againat. 
organs. 

However Mr. Fool might vindicate himself against tlia 
tnisnepreseotations of this sermon, be refused to compljr. 



FO O U 157 

fikhthe aetof uniformity in 16^2, and tberefom incttfroil 
an ejectment from his reotory ; upon which occasion h« 
iprim^ed a piece in Latin^ entiCled ^< Fox clamsntis in &•» 
^erio.'*^ Hp then submitted to the law with a commend^ 
able resignation, and enjoying a paternal e9tate of one 
hundred pounds per annum, sat down to his studies, re^ 
solving to employ his pen in the service of religion in gtr 
neral, without interfering with the controversies of the 
times« With this view, be formed the design of a very 
laborious and useful work, which procured him n^icj^ 
credit at the time, and entitles him to the regard of posv 
terifcy/y^ThTs-wai. his "Synopsis Criticorum,'^ publisbel 
in J6d9, and following years, in 5 very large volumei^ ia 
folio, some account of which may not be uninteresting^ as 
it throws some light on the state of literary trade and public 
spirit in. those days. As it was probable that this wor^ 
which was suggested by bishop Lloyd, would be atteijdeji 
with an enormous expence, Mr. Pool, after he had formed 
his pUui, and partly prepared his .materials, endeavouired 
first to discover what likelihood there was of pitblic enoour 
ragenient, apd with this view published as a specimen of 
the \fork, the sixth etiapter of Genesis, with ae address 
-and pjroposals. In these be solicited the subscritptions of 
^^ the friefids of religion and learning^ to the " Synopsis,** 
»vhich was io consist of three volumes folio, of 9B0 sheets 
•each, at 4L each copy, and the number of his subsoribem^ 
'there is reason to think, was from the beginning very j^reat, 
jmen of all parties discovering an eagerness to encourage a 
work the utility of which was so obvioy9. That the .sub*- 
aeidbears might be satisfied as to their money being pr oe 
perly expended, a committee of divines and ge^emeu 
of psoperty eonsenled to act as trustees for ihe manager 
ment of the fund* These were, sir Jsjues Langbam, Dr. 
Patack, JDc Tillotson, Dr. Micklethwait, 2>r. Wharton, 
John King, of the Inner-Temple, esq. and JAr. Stillingfleet, 
jny three of whom juigbt impower the treasurer, William 
iWebb, esq. to is^ue money for carrying on the wortr. 

. Aiofig with this specimen aud proposak, Mr. Pool fnub-^ 
lished the opinions of << several eminent, reverend, and 
^learned persons, bishops and others|,*' in favour of th^ 
wwadi^, and of his ability to etj^ute jit> of wbiph he was au^ 
"thoTi^ed to maJie this use. Among the prelates who re- 
.eomfuendi^tbe^'SypopsiV' ,#$;* vxvkvbiph they ^^were 
persuaded would teud wetf OHicb to theadraocemetitof 



15a POOL. 

leligipn and l«mii»g, were Morley, bishop of Winctreiter^ 
ReyooIcU of 'Norwich, Ward of Salisbury, Rainbow of 
Carliste, Blandford of 'Oxford, Dolben and Warner of 
Socbester, Morgan of Bangor, and Hacket ; of Lichfield 
«nd Coventry ; and among the other divines, several of 
whom afterwards were raised to the episcopal bench, w^e 
Dr. Barlow, provost of Queen's college, Oxford ; Dr. Wil- 
kins, Dr. Castell, Dr. Lloyd (whom some, as we have ob* 
served, make the first instigator), ■ Dr. Tiltotson, Mr. Stil* 
lingfleet. Dr. Patrick, Dr. Whichcot ; Dr: Bathurst, pre- 
sident of Trinity college, Oxford, Dr. Wallis and Drv 
Ligbtfoot, with the -most eminent and learned of the non- 
conformists, > Baxter, Owen, Bates, Jacomb, Horton, and 
Manton. Most of these signed their opinions in a body ; 
but bishop Hacket, Dr. Barlow, Dr. Lightfoot, and Dr. 
Owen, sent him separate letters of encouragement, in Ian* 
guage which could not fail to have its weight with the pub- 
lic. He also acknowledges, with great gratitude, tbe mu- 
nificent aid he received from sir Peter Wentworth,K;B. 
who appears to have been bis chief .'p^atron, and from sir 
Orlando Bridgman, the earls of' Manchester, Bridgwater, 
JLauderdale,^ and , Donegal ; >the lords Truro, Brooke, and 
Cameron, sir. William Morrice, sir Walter St. John, sir 
Thomas Clifford, sir Robert Murray, .&c. &c. &c. 

With much encouragementhe ihad also some difficulties 
to encounter. When the first- volume was ready for the 
press, an obstruction which ' appeared very formidable 
was thrown in his way by Cornelius Bee, a bookseller, 
who, in a paper or pamphlet called ^^ The case of Cornelius 
-Bee," accused Mr. Pool of invading his property. To un* 
derstand this it is necessary to know that this Mr. Bee, un- 
questionably a man of an ente^prizing spirit*, equal per- 
haps to any instance known in our days among the trade, 
Jiad published a very few years before, i. e. in 1660, tbe 
.'f Critici Sacri,'' or a body of criticisms of the most 
learned men in Europe, amounting to ninety, on the Old 
and New Testament, given at large from their works, and 

>extending to nine volumes folio. Bee bad a patent for this 

/ , I • » . • . • 

*■ Faller, after . mentidniog that btbei in Uieir laps, whom theji: cait- 

Knighton^tlFIistory was** fairly printed not' bear in their wombs. 'And tbas 

with other Uistonans^ on the comineDd- thit industrious' statioBeT (theagh ifo 

.able cost of .Cornelius Bee/' adds, in fatfier) hath beenfosterrfather to mao^ 
his quaint way^ ** Thus it is some com- ■ worthy books, to the great profit of 

Ibrt and contentment to such, whom posterity/* Fuller's Worthies, Leicea- 

oatvre hfitbdenied to be mothers, that terfbire^ p. 133-. . . 
tlity may be drye nurses, and dandle 



P O O L.' 159 

wwkf Bad BDXiiiestionaUy (dciM^ed every encoaragemeot 
and protection the law could give, but the language of his 
patent seems to have given him a narrpw notion of literary 
property. It stated that no perscmjUould print the Critics 
either in whole or inpart^ and therefore he considered 
If r. Pool as prohibited from taking any thing from this vast 
collection of criticisms which separately were in every^ 
persons' hands, or from making any abricjgmeht, or com« 
piling any work that resembled. the " Criticrfiaori/* how^. 
ever improved in the plan, or augmented, as Pool's was, 
from a variety authors not used in it . He also .c)oj|i|iplained 
that he should sustain a double injury by the ,^. Synopsis :'* 
first, in the lo^s of the sale of the remaining copies of his 
own work, foe which he did Mr. Pool the honour to think 
there wonld be no longer a demand ; and secondly, in being 
prevented from! publishing an improved edition of the 
^' Critici Sacri^' which he intended; 

In answer to this, Mr. Pool said, that as soon as he 
heard of Mr. Bee*s objections, be took the opinion of 
counsel, which was. in favour of bis proceeding w$ih. the 
** Synopsis ;" that be also offered to submi|.the matter to 
arbitration, which Bee refused, and that he in vain pro« 
posed other terms of accommodation, offering him a fourth, 
part of the property, of the work, which Mr. Bee treated 
with contempt; ^f but,'Vadds Pool, *^ \ doubt not Mr. Bee 
Will .be more reconciled to it the next time that Mr. Pool 
shall make him such. another offer," which we shall see 
proved to be true. With regard to the supposed iojuiry 
that would accrue to Mr.;Bee, part appears imaginary, and 
part contradictory. W^*: learn from this controversy, that 
the price of the '* Critici iSacri*' (which, as well as of the 
'* Synopsis,'' has been, in our time, that of wasfte; pa'per) 
was originally 13/. lO^./and.Bee says in his preface, and 
truly, that for this sum the purchaser had more works than 
he cottld have bought separately for 50L or 60/; But as 
he had blamed Pool for occasioning a depreciation of the 
remaining copies of the..'^ Critici Sacri," the latter tells 
him that if this was a crime, he was himself guilty of it in 
two ways; for first when .he brought down the price of 
divers books from 50/. or 60/. to 13/. 10^. the possessors of 
those books were forced to sell them at far lower prices 
than they cost; and secohfily. Pool contends that his.p/o* 
jected new edition of the *^ Critici Sacri" would be a.ma*« 
nifest injury to hundreds who bought the old one it%^ 






i«e p o o L* 

aiie some seroions, already meirtiotted) Ui the ^ Morning 
Exercise ;" a poem and two epitaphs upon Mr. Jeremjr 
Whitaker; two others upon the death of Mr. Richard 
Yines ; and another on the death of Mr. Jacob Stock ; m 
prefoce to twenty posthumous Ser4S)ons of Mr. Nalton*s^ 
together with a character of him. He also wrote a volume 
of ^^ English Annotations on the Holy Scripture ;*' but was 
prevented by death frotn going ferther than the 56th chap- 
ter of Isaiah. Others undertook to complete that work^ 
whose names Ant Wood has mistaken. From Galamy we 
learn that the 59th and eoth chapters of Isaiah were done 
by Mr. Jackson of Moulsey. The notes on the rest of 
isaiah and on Jeremiah and Lamentations were drawn up 
by Dr. CoUinges ; Ezekiel by Mr. Hurst ; Daniel by Mr^ 
Cooper ; the Minor Prophets by Mr. Hurst ; the four Evaa^ 
gelists by Dr. Collinges ; the Acts by Mr. Vinke ; the 
Epistle to the Romans by Mr. Mayo ; the two Epistles te 
the Corinthians, and that to tbe Galatians, by Dr.CelliHges; 
that to the Ephesians by Mr. Veale ; the Epistles to the 
Pfailippians and Colossians by Mr. Adams ; the Epistles to 
Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, by Dr. Collinges ; that te 
the Hebrews by Mr. Obadiah Hughes ; the Epistle of St. 
James, two Epi^les 0f St. Peter, and the Epistle of St. 
Jude, by Mr. V'Cale ; three Epistles of St. John by Mr. 
Howe ; and the Book of the Revelaftions by Dr. Collinges; 
These Annotations were printed at London 1685, in twe 
Tolumes in folio, and vej^inted in 1 700, which is usuall j- 
called the best edition, although it is far from corrects 
We have the original proposals for this work also before 
us; but there is nothing very intenesting in them, unless 
that they inform us of the price, which was 1/. 5s, per vo<^ 
lume, or a penny per sheet, which appears to have beea 
the average price of folio -printing at that time* 

When Oates's depositions concerning the popish plot 
were printed in 167!^, Pool-found his iisHaae in the list of 
those that were to be cut off; and an incident befel hin^ 
aoon after, which gave him die greatest apprehension of 
bis danger. Having passed an evening at alderman Ash- 
urst's, he took a Mr. Cfaorley to bear him company home* 
'When they came to the narrow passage wbixeh leads frooft 
Clerkenwell to St. John's^-court^ there were two men. 
standing at the entrance; one of whom, as Pool came^ 
along, cried out to tiie olihor, <' Her« he is P upon whiehr 
the other replied^ ** Let him alone, for there is somebody 



POOL. 1st 

lyitJbbim.*^ As soon as they tyei;ie pasised, P9olas]^e(} bi.f 
friend^ if he heard what tbo.se men said? ana Ppon bis 
answering ^bat he had, ** Well^" replied Popl, ^* I ba4 
been murdered tp-night if yop b?id not beei^ vitb ;me.'* 
Ijt is said, that, before this incident, be gaye not the l^ast 
credit io what w^s said in O^tps's d^po^itjoji ^ b^uj; tben he 
t^hoyght prqper tp retice to )Song.n,d^ where hp jjied in OqU 
qf tbe same year^ 1679^ ppt without a suspicioij of heiug 
poi^pned, as Oalawy relates. , ^is bp,dy wa^ inte)rred ivi ^ 
vault belonging to the English ^^rcbants at Aqis.terdam. ^ 

It h^s been said th^t Pool lived and died ^ single man. 
This, however, was qot the .case. Niceron te^s ys tb^t ho 
B^4 a son who died in 1697, ^ piece of ipform^Hon which. 
be probably took frooi the account of Mr. P90I, prefixed to 
the Franpfort edition of t,he ^^ Synopsis^'? 1694.; .^nd in 
Smith's Obitqajry (in Peqk'^ " Desid^erata") we hay^ a 
notice of jtbe bi^cial, Aug^ 11, 1668, of ** Mrs. Poole (wifj^ 
to Mr. Matth,ew Poole preacher), £^t St. Andrew's ^olbprn. 
Dr. Stillingfleet preacher pf ner funei^l serpipn.'* * 

POPE (Alexandjer), the most elegant and popular of 
^1 JInglish poets, was born in Looibard. street^ Lopdpn^ 
May 22, 1688, wh^re his fa.tjier^ ^linen-draper^ had g.c- 
quired a property of 20,000/. His mother was daughter pf 
W illiam Turner, ejsq. of Yor^, two of whose sons <^ied in. 
the service of Charles I. and a third became a genera^ 
bj^cer in Spain, and from thi^ last Mjrs. Pope is ss^id to 
have inherited what sequestrations and forfeitures had I^eft; 
10. the faA;iily. Both his parents were Roman catholics, ^e 
.was frpm his bir.tjh of a constitution tender and delicate ; 
but is said to have shewn remarkable gentleness an,d pweet- 
ness of disposition. The weakness of his body continuetjl 
throughout life, and was so .grea^t th^t .he constantly wore 
s.tays;, but the piildness of bi.s mind, ,s^ys. Johnson, per- 
Jiaps ended with his childhood. His voice,' when he wa.s 
young, .was so pleading, that hp was called in fpndne^i 
** the little Nightinga,le." 

He was taught to read by an aunt who vras particularly 
Ibnd o/hijii, and to write by copying printed oopks, wbi<;b 
be did jgill his life with great skill .and dexteVity, ftlthqugb 
Jiis ordinary h^ni y^ i&r ftopti elegant. ji,i jtb^ .a^g!e.of 
jeifljht.be was placed under the care of Tavecner, ia Rpmi{>h^ 

' 1 Biog. 3 rit— Calamy.— fQen. pict,— Birch»/i T(ltotwp,-^^^r%m:9r.r^A^, iOx,' 
.foMI^-rkJowbtefJl Life of.Combsier, p- 51.— PrppowU teipefi^jng hU SvmynfH^ 
io a volume of Ti acUi, Jo \k9 .pgwession of the f^ditpwr.— ^^iceioa, vqI, ^'XfUV, 

M 2 



164 to P E. 

priest^ who taught him the rudiments of' the Greek und 
Latin languages at the same time, a method tery rarely 
practiced. Having improved considerably under Taverner^ 
he was' sent to a celebrated seminary of catholics at Twy« 
ford, hear Winchester ; but in consequence of his writing 
a lampoon on his master, one of his first efforts in poetry,, 
he was again removed to a school kept near Hyde-park* 
corner. His master^s name here is not mentioned by any 
of his biographers, but it was probably John Bromley, who 
wad curate of St. Giles's in the fields in the beginning of 
James II.'s reign, soon after became a decided catholic^ 
and losing bis employment at the revolution, taught a 
i^chool with good reputation. Dodd was informed that 
Pope was one of his pupils. Before his removal to this 
last place he had been much a reader of Ogilby's Homer,, 
and Sandys' Ovid, and frequently spoke, in the latter part 
of his life, of the exquisite pleasure which the perusal of 
these two writers gave him. He now had an opportunity 
of visiting the playhouse^ and became so delighted with 
dieatrical exhibitions, that he formed a kind of play froia 
the chief events of the Iliad as related' by Ogilby, with 
9ome verses of bis own intermixed. He persuaded a few 
of the upper boys to act in this piece ; the master^s gar- 
dener represented the character of Ajax ; and the actors 
were dressed after the pictures of his favourite Ogilby^ 
which indeed were designed and engraved by artists of 
note. 

In 17bo, when he had attained his twelfth year, he re- 
tired with his father to Biufield'near Oakingham ; and for 
some time was under the care of another. priest named 
Dean, but with so little advantage, that the youth deter- 
mined to study on a plan of his own, Reading all such books 
as be could procure; but with a decided preference, even 
at this early age, to poetical works. It does not appear 
that any of the learned professions were pointed . out to 
him*, or that bis^father attempted in any way to direct his 
studies. *^ He was," says Dr. Warton, *' invariably and 
solely a poet, from the beginning of his life to the end.** 
Of the poets which he read, Dryden soon became his fa- 
vourite and model ; and we are told that he entreated a 
friend to <;arry him to Button's coffee-bouse which Dryden 

* Peirliapii bis deformity of perton fiMroiity aroM bfti not been MCertiiiited ^ 
flight sofgest an tiofitiien for -the but most probably it wat frwoaarick-* 
WaraedprofeMMNEia. Whence Uiv 4^» cty oonirtiliiti^a. 



P O P R i«5 

ibeqiIbQted, tbat he might gratify himself with the bore 
sight of a man whom be. so maeh admired, and of whom 
he continaed to speak well throughoiit life. 

How early Pope began to write cannot be ascertained : 
some, think the ** Ode to Solitude,*' written at twelve years 
of age, was his earliest production ; but Dodsley, who lived 
in intimacy with him« had seen pieces of a still earlier date. 
,At fourteen, he employed himself in some of those trans- 
lations apd imitations which appear in the first volume of 
his works ; and still zealous in the prosecution of his poeti- 
cal studies, he appears at this time ambitious to exhibit 
-specimens of every kind of poetry. He wrote a comedy, 
a tragedy, and an epic poem, with panegyrics on all the 
princes of Europe ; and, as he confesses, <^ thought himself 
the greatest genius that ever was." Most, however, of these 
puerile productions he afterwards destroyed. At sixteen 
he wrote his *^ Pastorals," which laid the foundation of last- 
ing hostility between Philips and himself, but were the 
means of introducing him to the acquaintance and friend- 
ship of Sir William Trumbull, who had formerly been much 
Ml public life, as a statesman, and was then retired within 
a short distance of Biufield. Trumbull, who was pleased to 
find in his neighbourhood a youth of such abilities and taste 
as young Pope, circulated his ** Pastorals" among his 
friends, and introduced him to Wycberley and Walsh, and 
the wits of that time. They were not however published 
until 1709, and then only in Tonson*s Miscellany. Of 
their poetical merit, it seems now agreed that their chief 
excellence lies in correctness and melody of versification, 
and that the discourse prefixed to them, although much of 
it is borrowed from Rapin and other authors, is elegantly 
and elabonitely written. Froifi this time the life of Pope, 
as an author, may be cplnputed, and having now declared 
^himself a candidate for fame, and entitled to mix with his 
brethren, he began at the age of, seventeen to frequent 
the places where they used to assemble. This was done 
without much interruption to his studies, bis own account 
of which was, that from fourteen to twenty he read only 
for amntement, from twenty to twenty- seven for improve- 
jnent and instruction : that in the first part of his time he 
desired only to know, and in the second he endeavoured 
to judge. His next performance greatly increased bis re- 
putation: this, was the <* Essay on Criticism," written in 
1709 f and published in 1711, which Dr. Johnson haii cha* 



166 P 6 P M. 

i^cterizied, di aisj^Iaying " such cxtfeifl of cdtnfjreh^hsion, 
'$iich nicety of distinction, such Acquaintance with n^iinkincf, 
and such knowledge both of ancient and niddern leatttin^y 
as are not often atttiined by the mature^t Age and longest 
#*p$i*iencc." It found its way, however, fath^t slowly 
into the world ; biiit when the author had sent copies tb Lord 
Lansdowne, the Duke of Buckinghdm, and other gr^at 
*ien, it began to be called for. It was ih this ** Essay" he 
ttiAde his attack on Dennis, which provoked those hostilities 
bfetween theta that never Were completely Appeased. Den- 
nis's reply was sufficiently coarse, but he appears to havfe 
been the first who discovered that leading dhAi^aCterislic of 
Pope, his propensity to talk too frequently of bis owii vii*- 
tues, And that sometimei^ irheii they were least tisible tb 
others. 

The ** MessiaV appeArifed first in the Spectator, 1713, 
^th A warm recommendation by Steele, and raised thto 
highest expectations of what the authbr was capable of per-* 
forming ; but he wAs hot so hAppy in his ** Ode on St. 
Cecilia's Day.'' This w&s fblloived by the beautiful little 
ode, "The Dying Christian to his Soul," written at Steele's 
desire, to be set to music. In this he owns his obligations to 
the versies 6f Adrian, And the fragment of Sappho, butsayi 
tiotbirig of Fiatman, whose ode he not only ioiitated, but co'- 
pied some lines of it verbatini. The very pathetic " Elegy 
to the memory of an tinfortunate Lady" Wai probably Writteh 
about this time, but whb the lady iitsk reinains a ms^ter of 
conjecture. One story, in a note Appended to Dr. John^ 
son's life of Pope, is, that her name wAs Withinbury, dr 
Winbury ; that she was in love with Pope, and would have 
married him ; that her guardian, thougb she was deformed 
in person, lookiiig upon such a match as beneath her, sent 
her to a content, &c. where she committed suicide ; but 
all this has been contradicted, and nothing i^ubstituted in 
its room much more worthy of belief. 

In the same year, 1711, he produced the** Rape of the 
Lock," a poem which at once placed hiih higher than ^tif 
modern writer, and exceeded every thing of the kirid thathAd 
appeared in the republic of letters. It was occasioned bjr 
a frolic of gallantry ,~in whifch Lord Petre cut off a favouritfe 
. lock of Mrs. Arabella Termor's hair, and this fdmiliarity 
being so much resented as to occasion A serious rupture 
between the two families, Mr. Caryl, a friend to both, de^ 
-yired Pope to write something that might bring them int^ 



POPE, HI 

Wter buioour* Two cantos were a<;corduigI]r produced ia 
a fortnight^ and published w ooe of Lintot's Misc^lUoi^s ; and 
i^ndiDg th^se received with univerial appiau$e, be pext 
jear enlarged the poeoi to five cantos^ : 4nd by the addi* 
tioa of the machinery, of the Sylpb$i placed the ^' Rape of 
tbp Lock" above all other mock ber<:^ic poemji whatever. 

It appears by a letter to Steele^ dal^d Nov. 161, 1712^ 
t^at be then first commuivicated to hii^ ^ The Temple of 
Fame,^' though be bad written it two years before* Tb^ 
descriptive powers of Pope, Warton thinks ar^ qiucb mora 
visible and strong in this poeooi than in the *^ Windsor 
Forest" which followed it in th^ order of publication, aU 
though the first part was published in 1704.^ The ja^t of 
bis separate publications which appeared about this timQ 
was the *^ Epistle from Eloisa to Abelard," in which it ba^ 
been jiistly said that he excelled every composition of the 
same kind. Its poetical merit, however, great as it is, if 
scarcely sufficient to make the reader forget the inber^nl 
indelicacy of the story, oir its pernicious tendency. 

Having amply establbhed his fame by sq many excellent, 
and by two incomparabley poems, the *^ Rape of the Lock" 
and the *^ Eloisa," be now meditated what Warton, somer 
what incautiously, calls ^' a higher effort," his translation of 
Homer. A higher effort it certainly was not than the poen^f 
just mentioned, bqt we may allow it was '^ something that 
might improve and advance his fortune^ as well as his fame." 
A clamour was raised at the time that be had not sufficient 
learning for such an undertaking; and Dr. Johnson says, 
that considering his irregular education, and course of 
}ife, it is not very likely that he overflowed with Greek j 
but this, it is knowp, be supplied by the aid of his frieiidsi 
or by scholars employed, of whom he had no personal knowr 
ledge, as the celebrated Dr. Jortin, who, when a soph at 
Cambridge, made extracts from Eiistatbius for bis notes. 
This translation Pope proposed to publish by subscription^ 
in six vols. 4to» at the price of six guineas, and his list of 
subscribers soon amounted to 575, who engaged for 654f 
copies. The greatness of the design, and popularity of tb^ 
author, and the attention of the literary world, naturally 
raised spch e:spectation$ of the future sale, that the book- 
sellers made their offers with great eagerness : but th^ 
highest bidder was Bernard Lintot, who became proprietor^ 
on condition of supplying, at his own expence, all tb? 
Cippies whicb were to be delivered to subscribe^r/i, pr, pr^r 



Ui P O t*^ E. 

sented to friends, arid paying 2001. for every volume, so 
that Popeobtained^ntbewbole,tbesutnof53i20/. 4s. Tbis 
money he partly laid out in annuities, particularly one of 
200/. a year, or as some say 500/. from the Duke of Buck- 
ingham, and partly in the purchase of a bouse at Twicken- 
ham, to which he 'now removed, ' having persuaded bia 
father to sell his little property at Binfietd. 

The publication of the first volume of the ^ Iliad'* was 
attended by a circumstance which interrupted the friendship 
that had lohg subsisted between Pope and Addison. This 
was the appearance of a translation of the first book of the 
Iliad under the name of Tickell, which Pope had reason 
to think, and confidently asserted, was the work of Addison 
himself, and not of Tickell. In the collection of Pdpe*s 
letters, in Johnson's life, and in the notes to Addison's life 
in the "Biograpbia Britannica," written by Mr. JuiHice 
Blackstone, are many particulars of tbis unhappy quarrel,' 
the real cause of which is not very clear. Every candid 
reader will wish tbieit a charge of disingenuity against so 
amiable a man as Addison, ^could be clearly refuted, and 
Blackstone has made considerable progress in this. Pope^s 
biographers seem to think that much cannot be learned 
from the evidence of style, and that this translation of the 
first book of tbe Iliad is more likely to have' been written 
by Tickell than by Addison. With bis usual frankness and 
good nature, Steele once endeavoured to reconcile Pope and 
-Addison ; but, in the interview he procured, they so bitterly 
upbraiided each other with envy, arrogance, and ingrati- 
tude, that they parted with increased aversion and ill-wilL 
Pope was chiefly irritated at the calm and contemptuous 
unconcern with which Addison affected to address him in 
this conversation, and his miiid had been alienated from 
' Mm long before, owing to a notion that Addison was jear 
lous of bis fame. Of Tickell's translation no more appeared 
thannhis first book; and if we may be permitted to add one 
to tbe many conjectures already offered on this subject, we 
should say that probably no more was intended, and that 
this specimen was published ratber to alarhfi Pope's vanity 
than to hurt his interest or bis fame. 

During the publication of the Ui^df Pope found leisure 
to gratify his favourite passion of laying out grounds, which 
he displayed with great taste and judgment at his newly 
purchased house at Twickenham. This spot was visited 
vid admired by the first men of thii couutry, and (re* 



P O P £♦ 169 

f|QJ&ntly by Frederick, prince of W^les, who contributed 
some ornamental articles ; and for nearly a century it gon?- 
tinued to be an object of curiosity; but in 1807 the house 
was entirely pulled down, and the grounds, from the many 
alterations they have undergone, can no longer be associ- 
ated with the taste and skill of Pope. Herein 1717 hi* 
father died, after having lived to spend the greater part of 
the 20^00/. which be acquired in trade, but which,, being 
disaffected to government,, he would not trust in. any gf its 
funds, and therefore he went on consuming the principal* 
His son, celebrated him with equal elegance, tendernesf, 
and gratitude, in the '* Epistle to Arbuthnot," The yefr 
b^oire he had published in folio atollection of all his poems, 
with that sensible preface which now usually stands at, the 
head: of his. works. 

. In 1720, the publication of the ^^ Iliad*^ was completed, 
aj»d in 1721 he acted as editor of the poems of his friend 
Parnell, to which, be prefixed the fine epistle to Lord Ox- 
ford. . Pope loved money, and in 1720 had been one of the 
adventurers in the South- Sea scheme, but from, this be es^ 
caped without being a very great loser ; the sapae motive, 
though his rem'uoeration did not much exceed 200A < in« 
jduced him to become editor of Shakspeare, for which be 
MFas totally unfit. Tonson wished to have a good name pre* 
•^xed tp his edition, and Pope^s was , then the fir^t^amoiig 
living poets. His labours were attacked by Theobald, first 
ia his ^^ Shakspeare Restored," and afterwaifds in bis own 
^edition, to which Warburton contributed many remarks. 
Pope was much mortified by this failure, but is said to have 
recovered his tranquility by reflecting that he« had a mind 
.too great for the petty employments of collators, commen- 
tators, and verbal critics. It was on this occasion that Mai- 
Jbt obtained Pope's friendship by addressing to bim^an 
:epUtle on. " Verbal Criticism." What sort of friend Mal- 
' let proved at lasit, we have already mentioned in our acr 
count of him. . \ 

Soon after this Pope issued proposals for a translation of 
.the ^* Odyssey ;" but of this he pertormed only twelve 
books, namely the third, fifth, seve^ith, ninth, teiith, thir- 
^ tejsDth^ fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, twenty. first, 
•.twenty-second,, and twenty-fourth. The rest were trans- 
Jated by Fenton and Bropme, and Pope is said to have 
^iyen the Coirmer three hundred, and the latter five hundred 
... pounds for their assistance ; but as the number of subscri-- 



170 POPE. 

hen equalled that of the Iliad, bis own profits must hav» 
been yerj cotisriderable. About tbis time he was full of 
grief and anxiety, on account of the impeachment of his 
friend bishop Atterbury, for whom he seems to have felt 
the greatest affection and regard; and being summoned 
before the Lords at the trial, to give some account of At« 
terbury's domestic life and employments, not being used to 
speak in a large assembly, he made several blunders in the 
few words he had to'utten It is remarkable that the day 
which deprived him of Atterbliry, restored to him anothei 

> friend, Bolingbroke, ,who continued in habits of intimacy 
with him during the whole of his life. 

In 1727, Swift, who had long corresponded with him^ 
coming to England, joined with Pope in publishing in 
4 vols. 8vo, their miscellanies in prose and verse. To these 
Pope wrote a preface, complaining, among other instances, 

. of the ill usage he had received from booksellers, and of 
the liberty one of them (Curll) had taken in this same year 
to publish his juvenile letters, purchased from a Mrs. Tho« 
mias, a mistress of his correspondent Mr. Cromwell. Pope 
bad been intimate with this lady in his young days, but 
was now so seriously hurt at the publication of his letters, 
although he knew that she did it from distress^ that he took 
a severe revenge in a poem called " Corinna," and in the 
'^ Dunciad,'' which appeared in the following year. The 
object of this celebrated satire was to crush all his adversa- 
ries in a mass, by one strong and decisive blow. Qis own 
account of tbis attempt is very minutely related by Pope 
himself, in a dedication which be wrote to Lord Middle- 
sex, under the name of Savage the poet, who assisted Pope 
in finding out many particulars of these adversaries, [f we 
may credit this narrative, Pope contemplated his victory of^et 
Dunces with great exultation ; and such, says 0r. Johnson, 
was his delight in the tumult he had raised, that for a while 
his natural sensibility was suspended, and he read re- 
proaches and invectives without emotion, considering them 

'only as the necessary effects of that pain which he rejoiced 
in having given. He would not however have long in- 
dulged tbis reflection, if all the persons he classed among 
the Dunces bed possessed the spirit which animated some 
of them. Pucket demanded and obtained satisfaction for 
a scandalous imputation on bis moral character; and Aarob 
Hill expostulated with Pope iu a manner so much superior 



P O B B. 171 

<b all ^ean «dlfchati(>ii^ that Pope '^ was reduced to siiesk 
and shuffle, Sometimes to deny, and sometimes to apolo- 
gize : be first endeavours to wound^ and is then afraid to 
own that be meant a blow." There are likewise some 
names intfodoced in this poem with dis^respect which could 
receive no injury from snob an attack. His placing the 
.learned Beiilley among dunces, conld have occurred to 
Pope only in tbe moitient of bis maddest revenge : Bentiey 
,had spoken troth of tbe translation of the Iliad : be said i{t 
was ^ a fiwe poeiti, but not Homer." This, which has ever 
since been the opinion of the learned world, was not to be 
-refated by tbe contemptuous lines in which Bentiey is 
tiientioned in the ^ Dunciad." On the other hand, the 
real IKinceS) who are tbe-^majority in this poem, were be- 
neath the notice of a man who now enjoyed higher fame 
than any poetical contemporary, and greater popularity, 
and greater favour with men of rank. But it appears to 
have been Pope's opiuion that insignificance should be no 
protection, that even neutrality should not be safe, and 
that whoever did not worship the deity he had set up^ 
should be punished. Accordingly we find in this poem 
contemptuous allusions to persons who had given no open 
provocation, and were nowise concerned in the author** 
literary contests. The ^^Dunciad^' indeed seems intended 
as a general retreptacle for all bis resentments, just or un>- 
just ; and we find that in subsequent editions he altered, 
arranged, or added to his stock, as he found, or thought he 
found new occasion ; and the hero of tbe *^ Dunciad,'* who 
was at first Theobald, became at last Gibber. 

The " Dunciad" first appeared in 1729; and two years 
after. Pope produced his "^ Epistle to Richard Earl of 
Burlington, occasioned by his publishing Palladio's designs 
of the Baths, Arches, Theatres, &c. of aocrent Rome, &o,** 
Of the merit of this highly«finished poem, there is no dif^ 
ference of opinion ; but it gave rise to an attack on Pope's 
private character which was not easily repelled. Dr. War« 
ton says, ^'The gang of scribblers immediately rose up to- 
gether, and accused him of malevolence and ingratitude, in 
having ridiculed tbe house, gardens, chapel, and dinners, 
of the Duke of Chandos at Canons (who had latety, as they 
affirmed, been his benefactor) under the name of Timon. 
Be p^emptorily and positively denied the charge, and 
wrote an exculpatory letter to the Duke^- with tbe asaeve^ 



1T2 POPE. 



1- 



rations of which letter, as the last Diike of Chandos totj 
me, his ancestor was not perfectly satisfied.'* It was not 
•therefore the *^ gang of scribblers** who brought this accu- 
sation^ but all the family and connections of the iDuke of 
Chandos, and no defence has yet been advanced which can 
induce any impartial reader to think the accusation unjust. 
What seems to have injured Pope most at the time was^ 
that the excuses he offered were of the same shuffling kind 
which he employed in the case of Aaron Hill, and which, 
wherever employed, have the. effect of doubling the guih 
of the convict. This was one of the.circumstauces which 
induce us to think that Pope greatly injured his personal 
character by the indiscrimipate attacks in his '^ Dunciad,*' 
and by the opinion he seems to have taken up that no man 
was out of his reach. 

In 1732, Pope published his epistle ^'Ou the use of 
Riches,** addressed to Lord Bathtirst, which he has treated^ 
in so masterly a way, as to have almost exhausted the sub- 
ject. His observation of human life and manners was in- 
deed most extensive, and his delineations most exact and 
perfect. It is very hazardlpus to come after him in any 
subject of ethics which be has handled. Between this year 
A»d 1734, he published the four parts of his celebrated 
'^ Essay on Man,** the only work from his pen which equally 
engaged the attention of the moral, the theological, and 
the, poetical world. He appears himself to have had some 
fears respecting it, for it appeared without his name, and 
yet it is wonderful that the style and manner did not betray 
him. AVhen discovered it was still read as an excellent 
poem, abounding in splendid and striking sentiments of 
religion and virtue, until Crousaz endeavoured to prove, and 
not unsuccessfully, that it contained tenets more favourable 
tQ natural than to revealed religion. Crousaz Was answered 
hy a writer who a considerable time before had produced 
«and read a dissertation against the doctrines of the ** £ssay 
on Man,*' but now appeared as their vigorous defender. 
This was the learned and justly celebrated Warburton, 
who wrote a series of papers in the niontbly journals called 
,« The Republic of Letters*' and « The Works of the 
Learned,** which were afterwards collected into a volume. 
Pope was so delighted with this vindication, that he eagerly 
sought the acquaintance of Warburton, and told him be 
understood his opinions better than he did himself; which 
may be true, if, as commonly understood, Bolingbroke 



POPE, * in 

fcrnished those sobtle principles by which Pope at firsts and 
his readers afterwards, were deceived. The consequences 
of this acquaintance to Warburton were indeed momen- . 
tons, for Pope introduced him to Murray, afterwarids the 
celebrated Lord Mansfield, by whose interest he becanoe 
preacher at Lincohi's Inn ; and to Mr. Allen, *^ who gave 
him his niece aiid his estate, and by consequence a 
Bishopric ;'' and when he died he left him the property of 
his works. 

Few pieces, in Warton's opinion, can be found that, for 
depth of thought and penetration into the human mind and 
heart, excel the Epistle to lord Cobham, which Pope pub^^ 
Kshedln 1733, and which produced from his lordship two 
very sensible letters on the subjects, and characters intro* 
dnced in that epistle. In the same year appeared the fir>st 
of our author's Imitations of Horace, and in 1734, the 
Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, which was considerably altered. 
It was first called ^' A Prologue to the Satires,'^ and tbeo' 
^ A Dialogue." Pope did not always write with a decided 
preference of form or manner, for his admirable poem on 
^^The Use of Riches'' he called an epistle to lord Bathurst, 
although that nobleman is introduced as speaking, and 
speaking so insignificantly, that, as Warton informs us^ 
he never mentioned the poem without disgust. Pope's af- 
fectionate mention of his mother in this Epistle to Arbuth^ 
not must always be quoted to his hono^ur. . Of all his moral 
quaiitiei$, filial affection was most predominant. He then^ 
in L735, produced the Epistle on the ^^ Characters of Wo- 
men," in an advertisement to which he asserted that no one 
character was drawn from life. Pope had already lost some 
credit with the public for veracity, and this assertion cer* 
tainly was not believed, nor perhaps did he wish it to be 
believed, for in a note he informed his readers that the 
work was imperfect, because part of his subject was 
" Vice too high'.' to be yet exposed. This is supposed to 
allude to the character of the first duchess of Marlborough 
under the name of Atossa^ which was inserted after her 
death, in a subsequent edition, although Pope received 
«£lOOO. from her to suppress it. This is -said to rest on the 
sole authority of the late Horace Walpole, lord Orford ; but 
jf told by him as we find it in Warton's and Bowles's edi«- 
tions of Pope's works, it confutes itself. The fact as they 
relate it is, that Pope received ^1000. from the duchess^ 
promising on th^se terms to suppress the character, and 



174 POP E. 

ibaM he fonk^e mdfteyAnd then publislied it Bbl Popi^ 
could not have published it, icMr it did not appear, accordiBg 
to Warton's aeeount, until 1746, two years after bis death ! 
It oiigbt then probably have been found among Mn Pope's 
]dSS. and ia^erted without any great blame by those who 
knew ootbing of the bargain with cbeiluchess, if there was 
ajsren «uch a bangain. 

In 1736 and 1737 he published more of his Imitations of 
Horace, all with his name, except the one entitled, *^ Sober 
Advice from floraoe to the yomig Gisfrtlemen atoout town,'^ 
which he was ashamed to sueknowLedge although he so&red 
Dodslay to publish <it as his own iu a 12m0 e<i&ion. In.tha 
last nseotioned year appealed an edition of Juis ^^ Letters^^ 
published in 4to. by a large jsubscription. His friend Mr/ 
Allen of Bath had suc^ an opinioa of Pope jtbat be adrised 
this publication, frpm whicb, he said, <' a perfeot systeoA 
of morals might be extracted," and OESeced<to be attheoost 
of a. publication of them. Pope preferned Jthe paibronage 
of the public, but yet wanted some apology f(ur publishing 
bis own letitexs. Dr. Johnson relates where he found that^ 
in the following wofds : 

'^ One of the passages of Pope^s life, iwhioh seems ^o 
deserve someinquiry, was a publication of Letters between 
him and his friends, wiiich falling into Ihe bands of Curll, 
a rapacious bookseller of no good fame, wiere by him; 
printed and sold. This volume containing some lettiera 
from noblemfin. Pope incited a prosecution aga,inst faini 
in the House of Lords for breach of {privilege, and attended 
himself to stimulate the resentment of his .'firiends. Curll 
appeared at the bar, and knowing himself in no ^danger^ 
spoke of Pope with very little reverence. ' He had,' said 
Curll, ^ a knack ..of versifying, but in prose I .think myself 
a match for him.' WJien the .orders of the house weve -ex-* 
amined, none of them appeased to have been infringed: 
durll went away triumphant, and Pope was left to seek 
fiOBoe other remedy. 

^^ CurU's Account was, that one evening a man in a cler^ 
gyman's gown, ibut with a lawyer's iband, ^brought and of- 
iesed to sale a number of printed volumes, which be found 
to be Pope's epistolary correspondence : that he asked na 
name, and .was told none, but gave the price denumded, 
and thought himself authorized to upo his purchase to hi^ 
own advantage. — That Curll gave 4i true account of the 
transaction it is reasonable to Joelieire, liecauae no fidse- 



. P O P 1. 175 

!kbod was ever yet detected; and 'when, some years afteiw 
msadB^ I mencioned at to Liatot, the san of Bernard, be de*- 
clared bis opinion to be, that Pope ,kneiv better than any 
body else how Curll obtained the copiesi because another; 
parcel was at the saine time sent to himself, for which no 
price had ever been demanded, as he made known fata 
resolution not to pay a porter, and consequently not ta 
deal with a naoieleBS agent. 

'^ S^uch care had been taken to make them public, that 
they were sent at once to two booksellers ; to Curll, wh« 
was likely to seize them as a prey ; and to Lintot, who 
might be expected to give Pope information of the seeming 
injury. Lintot^ I believe, did nothing; and CUirll did 
what was expected. That to make them public was tha 
only purpose, may be reasonably supposed, because tho 
nnmbens offered to sale by the private messenger, shewed 
that hope of gain- could not have been the motive of the 
impression. 

*^ It seems thatP€>pe, being desirous of printing- bis let* 
lers^ and «ot knowing how to do, without imputation of 
vanity, what has in this country been done very rarely^ 
contrived an appearance of compulsion : that, when he 
could c^omplain that his letters^. w^ie surreptitiously pnb-^ 
lisbed, he might decently and defensively {rablish them 
himself.** ^ 

Soch was the artifice, which, however, was soon de^^ 
lected, for no man could for a moment doubt that the let- 
ters were conveyed to Curll by Pope himself, that he might 
have a pretence for an edition, which, being avowed by 
himself^ wou^d obtain the preference- over every other. 
Could a doubt remain, it must be removed by the notes and 
information respecting these letters in Mr. Bowles's edition 
of his works. .As to the letters themselves, Warton says 
" tbey 'are all over-crowded with professions of integrity and 
disinterestedness, with trite reflections on contentment^and 
retirement ; a disdain of greatness and courts; a oontempt 
of fame ; and an afFeoted strain of common*plaee morality." 
Affeetatien indeed 'petvades the greater part of the corre- 
spondence, and those objects are mentioned with the greater 
disdain, which were the. objects of their highest ambition. 

Returning to his more original publications. Pope now 
issued -those two diabgues which were named, from the 
year in which they appeared, ^* Seventeen hnndred and 
^thirty eighty^' andare^among itbe bjtterest-of satipes. £.very. 



176 POPE* 

species of sarcasm and mode of style are here alternately 
employed ; ridicule, reasoning, irony, mirth, seriooaness^ 
lamentation, laughter, familiar imi^ery, and high poetical 
painting. Although many, persons iu power were highly 
provoked, he does not appear to have been very directly 
menaced with a prosecution ; but Paul Whitehead, who 
about this time wrote his *^ Manners,'* and his publisher 
Dodsley, were called to an account, which was supposed to 
have been intended rather to intimidate Pope, than to pu^ 
Jiish \Vbitehead, and Pope appears to have taken the hint; 
for be discontinued a Third Dialogue, which he bad begun^ 
and never afterwards attempted to join the patriot with the 
poet He had been led into this by his connection with 
the prince of Wales and the oppobitioo, but he could not 
have long been of service to them. Had tb.ey come into 
office, he must have been either silent, or ofi'eusive, for he 
was both a jacobite and a papist. Dr. Jobuson says very 
justly that he was entangled in the opposition now, and had 
forgot the prudence with which he passed, in his earHer 
years, uninjured and .unoffending, through much more 
violent conflicts of faction. 

Ceasing therefore from politics, for which . he was so 
uofit, he amused himself, in 1740, in republishing ** Se^ 
lecta Carmina Italorum,*' taken, without acknowledgement, 
frpm the collection called '^ Anthologia,'' 1684, 12mo, a|«- 
tributed to Atterbury, falsely, as Warton asserts, but justly 
according to every other opinion. The work however ia 
more imperfect than it^would have been had he consulted 
other collections of the kind. His last performance shewed 
either that his owp judgment was impaired, or that ha 
yielded too easily to tbatof Warburton, who now advised bioi 
to write the fourth book of the ^^ Dupciad ;*' and iu 1743 he 
betrayed a yet greater want of judgment by printing a new 
edition of the Dunciad, in which he placed Cibbcr in the 
room of Theobald, forgetting how opposite their charactera- 
were. He had before this introduced Cibber with con- 
temptuous mention in his satires, and Cibber resented 
both insults in two pamphlets which gave Pope more unea* 
siness than he was willing tp allow. 

The time was now approaching, however, in which all 
bis contests were to end. About the beginning of 1 744 
bis health and strength began visibly to decline. Besides 
his constant head-acibs, and severe rheumatic pains, he had 
been afflicted^ for five years, with an asthfna, which waa 



p OPE. 177 

' suipected'to be occasioned by a dropsy of the breast. la 
the mouth of May he became dangerously ill^ and op the 
vixth was all day delirious, which he mentioned four day^ 
afterwards as a sufficient humiliation of the vanity of man^ 
be afterwards complained of seeing things as through s^ 
curtaihy and in false colours, and one day asked what arm 
it was that caipe out from the wall. He said that his 
greatest inconvenience was inability to think. Bolingbroke 
sooaetiihes wept over him in this state of helpless decay ; 
arid being tord by Spence, that Pope, at the intermission 
of' his deliriousness, was always saying something kind 
either of his present or absent friends, and that his huma- 
nity seemed to have survived his understanding^ answerc^d^ 
^^ It has so :'* and added, ** I never in my life knew a; man 
that had so tender a heart for his particular friends, or 
more general friendship for mankind.'* At another time he 
said, *^ I have knoi^n Pope these thirty years, and value 
myself mor.e in his friendship than*' — his grief then sup^ 
pressed bis voice. Pope eicpressed undoubting confidence 
of a future state. Being asked by his friend Mr. Hooke, a 
papist, whether he would hot die like his father and mo- 
ther, and whether a priest should not be called ; he an- 
sweredy *^ I do not think it is essential, bi^t it will be very 
right : and I thahk you for putting me io mind of it.V In 
the morning, after the priest had done his office, he said, 
*^ There is nothing that is meritorious but virtue and friend- 
ship, and indeed friendship itself is only a part of virtue." 
He died in the evening of May 30, 1744, so placidly, that 
the attendants did not discern thee^act time of his expira-* 
tion. ' He was buried at Twickenham, near hift father and 
motherJ where a monument was afterwards erected to him 
by-Warburton. 

: Some idea of Pope's character may be derived from the 
preceding particulars, and more may be learned from his 
biographers Ruffhead, Johnson, Warton, and Bowles. 
Many circuQtstances, however, still want explanation, al- 
though upon the whole we cannot be said to be ignorant of 
the temper and character of~a man whose publications .and 
quarrels form a great part of the literary history, of the first 
half of the eigbte^h century, and of which spme notice 
Ttkdi been taken by every journalist, every critic, and eyery^ 
biographer, from his own to the present times.. A large 
volume niight be filled with even a moderate account of 
Vol. XXV. N 



Pope^s contests, and less than such a rolurae perhaps would 
'riot tie SdftsftttoV^/ "? ••* '^'''^ ''' '' ^'^^'^ •*' *• n.3f:ir,.^^ 
'^'''Wetya'^ealri^stdy copied an expression of pr.Warton's^ 
that P6[ie W^ ini^riattfy'^idd' sotSy 'i bbeV'Tro^* tUe VegiS- 
»it)gof b'is4ife id ili^ ^nd^'.'kria Wfe A^y Wdd fVbdi'lh^'^ama 
^Ifegattt'^dritic; tbit his' WhoWliffej 4*d^e^%'Mr 'o* ft,^iH 
%{bkn^s' aVid" in h^^li^, ' ^i d^v'bte'cf miW ifbr^i^ltd^^ diHi- 
'g«nbdi' td iMlttvsite cb^t on'd art'Tn Whii:h h^ ha^ 
%6 'excel, Aid- W S^BttK'be'dld WUi." 1? IJ'tibt'iiJr irifeV- 
tion,^kowdver, to^xiiatiae^'irfhikii'erits'a^^i^jSoetV' '.t^Kat 
kas been- idV^Ac^d% br; Jbbftioti^Sind^bKmhon inust 
ifiijperi^ae^^Il-htber efiTohl ; \)Ut v/^ m^O)^ WcntUedf to ^e- 
grtt that-be' iddcd -io' HttleH^ tte « JiiftV it "tiid'lite'rary 
chatatt^, irid thdt tis^i>a:asi6ni'^6r'e VUfgir a'nrf vulffar^ 




fitettj^ WVfengej^nd no disctli?rge! 6f abrltnohy; beneath him ; 
fthd Vks dorttinaaHy*end^aVoiirihy;*tA* drdWotri Hft' ifeWtest by 
ijdadklsb-stratigl^thsUhai8l0'aAifi^^^^ iiy ji^ocyrly dis? 




byiiW wit; that evdr'ddigbtM 49 
mnthin talking 6f"fti^ iiibney.^"In''htJ letters 'aad in his 
poems,'' tife'^gardensf^'And hft ^rott6, 'fefs 'dbthcuhi' and h$ 
rinesj t>r'^me hfnts of 'his bbuf^k^,' Hik ali^aV^^to Wl^ound^ 




In constitution he was constantly a valptuclinaiian. ^is 
pei'sdti Wa^s if^fbrtn^U; atid He'i^d&'sd feetife ay'r/bV^t^eable 
tocfrfesi^ br- iibdtess Himself *Wltlttirf'SiSikanbW-''Sucfr*^ 
stat^ of bddy genmil^pro'dticei'k cma1ti^'d6^rfee of fi^rita'- 
bility aritt'p^vishtllefes, wTiich'th'u^t tfatbri1fy^^e*t/eitty 

liot- tbri trtpeV Hte^ffir & ibitf ^ito\ 'ih Ti^fe privati hifeiti^iiM 
daprieroul^ ahd cigbrisfvle/^nd wH6e^pelited'tfia^''ev^iir t!hih^^^ 
sh<>nrd ^tve^W&y t8 Ws *ttfmouV." ^«^Wb thtfs jirbMtril 
cb'ntradietionk; 'anfl rl^hl^ Motti&adtloh^V ^roth vtliic&HS 
might have bfeerf ffee/lt lie'cJoWtf'KaVe* lived dft'^his* o*n 
^pletredSuVes^of^niurfiAdfaai'fe. '-' '^ ^^' " ''''" '^" '; ' 



P P % '1V9 

Bat if Pope •crktefd'yneitiles/Ke'alsb'cbmjinale^ 
and had afpifeasnt^ ifi«riiimerdting 'ttie knen idii^ii 'Mi 
ffiAth Wbom be tcus atfqdainted, and to gain^ho^e'fiiiVdur'fa^ 
|>^aetiseU hx> mettnticfss or ^eVvitity. It ie indded dlo««^ieH 
tint ^be tt^ver flaittei'dd tbbiie wboHi h^ did hbt'lbVi?, br 
praised those whom he did not esteem. And '^k^ fro&i his 
jaiiraittres 'and biis('c4pHciods faabUsy be must 'b±vk ^en.a 
;rery diiRKgreeftbte g^«st, hfe ft-eqtient r6dfeptibn in tfab 
immes and at the tables of then bf bigb i^nk Ts a jifbJf 
jdiactbe/e was mtldb in bfs chai'actbr to ^diiiine of eke^ds, 
tmUB;pi«sumptt6n tbdt dbtne of'tht^ failin'gs wtiich bav^ 
bebn * reported «rf b)m May haVe beeh <exa^gem6d Uj^ lii^s 
(toeinicfs. ^'A tbttfi/* says bis ablest bib|rHfiber, '^< ^ 
MToh eaahed sop^iot^tV, atld so Uttte moderatibn, Wolitii 
^iktorslty bave M bU dennqd^bcies ob^erV^d sfhd ^'^gVd- 
taled : ttndfihose Wh6 t6u\A t16t deny that b^ ^^as ib^^ciell^ntl 
^/fwiU ngbice to find ftiat he ^air frot perfect.*' tJbfoHii- 
nately some of those imperfectioDs wiere tob bbVi'du's 'fdi* 
fco uc e rf inent. 1Pdp& ilral», lEimdng otbler instances, W&b all 
htsfdefedts of p^ttron, li man of gallantry, and b^sidWHii 
p^^s1|mp>toous ^tvd ridiculoirs loVe for lady Mkty Wbrtley 
Alontdgae, oarrried tm an intercourse Witli th6 l^ts^^ 
pbuiit^ whfdb cM^h\^ was not of ^be PliatonSic kind. 
From tfae accoont gif^n by Mr. Bbwles; in bis Vbceht tM 
of Pope^ ind ttie itiei*' Letters pablisbed in Mr. ftbxVte^^'^ 
«diUoa of bib ^rtt^, ho gr^sii bbscurity nbw rest^ on th^ 
tiatiif e of that cc/Aliection. 

^ This transifeitt )^6tite of the Mr^ses Blouht leads fo & 
i^emark tb^t b6 Wte liot alwayi forttinate fti hi^ frie'n^shVps. 
Martha Blount, to whom be was most iitt^ehed; des^eVtfed 
khn in h]!8 l&st iHi^^s^; brid Bbringbroke, wh<ynl )fvk have 
steci weeping over the dying bard^ and pb'dt'ing out th^ 
jtftMnona of the 'witfib^t affection for the A-iehd h^ v^ds 
about to lose, soon employed the hireling M^H^t t6 bliblc'en 
|Vi|ieV cbarticter in tbe y^r^ article for which be thought 
btm tnoBtefltimabi^, the (iuHty drid honodr of his 'frieridships. 
We hifve ahr^&dy ni^tiee^ this Affair in bitr dbcbuVit oi 
MaUe^ (vot.^XXl. p. 195,) and ^hall no^ only ISrf^fl'y saV' 
tta% vkr l^o^nfs d^aCb, it Wi^ disclbs^d io Loi^d' Biiliri^- 
brokier by Miiltbt> H^a bad hU ihfbrthatloti iVbik^ £ UHHte^, 
th«l Pope bitd priht^d ah editibii of ib^ l^ss^^ bri d ^^Pk- 
4lriot'Kiiig/' Bilt, a^^ tli^e h^^ bfi^ri rtiutb ib!^6(ibb^titioii 
addlnitreprfs^ht^tioh te^p^bting ttitkaffiafit', W^^r^ ii£ii)^y Vo^ 
be able^ in this place, to state the circumstances atteilara^ 

N 2 



lip POP E. 

it on unquestionable authorityi that of a gentleman to 
'whom the following particulars were more than once r0^' 
lated by the late earlof Marchmont, and who, besides the 
obliging communication of them, has conferred the addi;- 
.tfonal favour of permitting us to use his name^ the Right 
Hon. George Rose. 

'' The Essay (on the Patriot King) was undertaken at 
the pressing instance of lord Cornbury, very warmly supf^ 
ported by the earnest entreaties of lord Marchmont, witk 
which , lord Bolingbroke at length complied. When it 
was written, it was shewn to the two lords, and one otheir 
confidential friend^ who were so much pleased with it^ that 
• they did not cease their importunities to have it published^ 
till his lordship, after much hesitation, consented - ta print 
it; with a positive determination, however, against a pob<^ 
lication at that time, assigning, as his reason, that the work 
was not finished in such a way aft he wished it to be^ before 
jit went into the world. 

''Conformably to that determination, some copies of 
the Essay were printed, which were distributed to lord 
Combury, lord Marchmont, sir William Wyndham, Mr. 
Lyttelton, Mr. Pope, and lord Chesterfield; one only 
having been reserved* Mr. Pope put bis copy into the 
hands of Mr. Allen, of Prior Park, near Bath, stating to^ 
him the injunction of lord Bolingbroke ; but that gentle-^ 
man was so captivated with it as to press* Mr. Pope to allow 
him to print a small impression at his own expense, using 
such caution as should effectually prevent a single cop^ 
getting into the possession of any one, till the consent of 
the author should be obtained. 

'' Under a solemn engagement to that effect, Mr. Popet 
very reluctantly consented : the edition was then printed/ 
packed up, and deposited in a separate warehouse,- of 
which Mr. Pope had the key. 

'' On the circumstance being made known to lord Be« 
lingbroke, who was then a guest in his own house at Bat-^ 
tersea with lord Marchmont, to whom he bad lent it for two 
-or three years, his lordship was in great indignation ;. to 
appease which, lord Marchmont sent Mr. Grevenkop (a 
German gentleman who had travelled with him, and was 
afterwards in the household of lord Chesterfield when: lord 
lieutenant of Ireland,) to bring out the whole edition, oB 
which a bonfire was instantly made on the terrace at Bat^ 
teraea." 



P O P E. - 181 

r'Tbisf pUin unTarnidfaed tale, our readers will probajbly 
think, tends very much to strengthen the vindication which 
W«rburton offered for his deceased friend^ although he 
wttn ignorant of the concern Alien had in the matter ; but 
it will be di65cult>to find an excuse for BolingbroW, who/ 
forgetting the honourable mention of him in Pope's wiii| 
a:thing quite incoqapatible with any hostile intention ]to- 
ivards him, could employ such a man as Mallet to blast the 
memory of Pope by telling a tale of "breach of felthj*' 
with every malicious iiggravation, and artfully concealing 
what be must have krtown, since lord Marchmdnt knew it, 
tbe share Allen had in the edition of the Patriot Kin sf. 
.Of tbe editions of Pope's works, it is unnecessary to 
mj^ntion any other thatt those of Warburton, and Johnson 
(the poems only), Warton, and the recent . one by Mr. 
Bowles, which contains many additional letters and docu- 
ments illustrative of Pope's character and connections.* 

POPE (Sir Thomas), founder of Trinity college. Ox- 
ford, was born at Dedington, in Oxfordshire, about the 
year 1508. His parents were William and Margaret Pope, 
tbd daughter of Edmund Yate, of Stanlake, in Oxford- 
sfalre. Shei was the second wife of our founder's father, 
aitd after his death in 1523, was again married to. John 
Bnstarde, of Adderbury, in the same county, whom she sur« 
vived^ and died in 1557. The circumstances of the family^ 
if not opulent, were *^ decent and creditable.'* 

Thomas was educated at the school of Banbury, kept by ^ 
Thiomas Stanbridge, of Magdalen college, an eminent 
tutor, and was thence removed to Eton college, from 
which he ifs supposed to have, gone to Gray's Inn, where 

Je studied the law. Of his progress at the bar we have ho 
ccount ; but bis talents must have discovered themselves at 
an early period, and have recommended him to the notice 
of his sovereign, as in October 1533, when be was only 
tw'enty^seven years old, he was constituted by letters-pa- 
tent of Henry Vlll. clerk of the briefs of the star-chamber 
at'Westminster, and the same month received a revei*sionary 
grant of the office of clerk of the crown in Chancery. Of 
this last he soon after became possessed, with an annual fee 
of' twenty pounds from tbe hanaper, and also a robe with 
fur at the feast of Christniias and Pentecost, from tbe king^s 

. i Joboson, WartoD, and Bowles's Uvei. — D*Israeli has an excellent chapter 
•to P^pe'tf Quarrels in his ** QuarieU of Authors.'" — I2iug. Brit. &c. &a» &c. 



1^ POPE. 

gr^pt w,nf4TfhG* Two. y^Ks ajfte^, in Noven4>^- 1 63 ? j ; Ire 

agCji iQ t^e, Tpwje;: of Lpnclori, which hip biographer, thmk** 
h^.qpiU<?fl ajjpqf:: eight ypf^^ aft^r for ^qm^.vfptfi, valiiah)^,^ 
pr^f^lpiQi^iX^^. T^ saoiie year he feceiyed^a, parent for a apwr^ , 
co^t of^aj-Qr^s^itp^.DjB DOf^Jei by hion wd hi« pi^^rityi wfeict^ 
•rejhQ?^ of, Triqitycpite^^ Io.Oc.tober.l53ft, bqx^c^iv^,, 
th|^^,bQjfip.ifr.(\f knighthpod^ at;.thes^Q^^ m;ith, Hefirjy^.. 

Hbwiard, a/terw^rd^.tb)? galJant and upfprtui^afe €;9ifL o£;* 
Si^ijrey,^ Id, D^cepjber,. he was appointed^ tou efpfgf'iH^,, 
joiqtl^, with .Wiliiarn-Smy the, th^ offijce of^ c|ei:k,p£ all tb^^. 
briefs fn . tbp ^tar-cbf(p(ibef jblK Wesiqin«|er, In Bebr l^3^k 
b^ .ottt^iji^d a^ his^ojyn tnstanc^t ajn^^^VayaljJicei3we,f<)r 
enferqsing the o6Bf;^ of clerk^of tbe.crowpjQxpxi^uQCijpi^^ 

with, Jqhn X-Mpa^^ afterwards an eminent crowJ? law^^F *^- 
the^reign of, Edward yj. 

Sopie, ottbe^e apppintments^: it is,,p4pb?^ble,. be.pvKed;(Q^tf 
Sir.,T^oiiias| JVfpre, wi^b w^ooi be ,wp parly ,a€jci4^ii^ ted, and 
sojcpj^ t^n'ofd Apdley, hqi\} Jor^.chaiiceyojjj; ^h\i^ ip,153a, ,. 
he receu;e4!, one. of greater importance,, being coiysti^vtefl by, 
the, kingji^ trppqrer pf thcj.comrtpf ap^a^f;nta|i9n$ pii.its /5r$j^ 
establ^sljinent by act of pg^rliaq^ep^., The^,biisijje;§s^ of ibif» . , 
cdui[t ,wa^ tq^sMma^^tbe lan^s of tbe,dis;iiQlved .mouas^ic;^ , 
vested J n,th^crpwp,. repeiye, tU^r reyenu^e^,. and^ s^JLth^- 
monastic po^si^ss^pns for .the.J^ipoj's service,; a^ it wa^^sO: 
called frbni the increase, w^'icb the. rQyaL,reveai^^ 
c^iy«4'' Tb.e,.trea^irsr's oi35>c^' w^a a.p9&tjo( coj^^eraWc 
prpfit, and ^ of cpnsiderahie digoityy: as the pe^sPjU bpjji^i^g ^ 
it ranted with th^ principal officers of,st^,.and vvas prir. , 
vifege^d to, rqtaia in hi? bpuseja chaplain^ ii^,yii^g«bf|i)ebce.,, 
with cqre of souls, r who should not bf conapellc^ytb r^-r 
de^nc^... Wh^t, the, emoluments, of. this pffice.,wer^,, is,po|:.; 
so^, clear, but. they were greater than the allowaujci^ of sir ,. 
Jphn Williams, treasurer in Edward Vlth's reiffn,. who .bad ; 
320f. yearly : and it may be supposed the.offic^e g%v^ tbpse^., , 
advantages in. the purchase, of the dissQlvqd. possfssio9a,.j 
which probably formed the foundation of £i^ Thpipaajf. ?aft^.^ 
fortyne... 

He held th^$ pffige for five years, aad during thskt^jlini^;, , 
was appointed master, or treasurer, of , the^ewe|pbo4)3e».Vi' ., 
the Tower. In 1^46. the court of auKmentatipnSi was dis^t,. 

ved, and a new establishment on a more confined plan 
substituted. In this sir Thomas Pppe was nominated mas- 
ter of the woods of the court on this side the rirer Trent^ ' 



I* OPE. 1S» 




in tergst^ ^^^ tl% jibing thaft .^ejp^? ,tbe pr^«^r^ipQ .ftf |bd) 

^ii)i?^W8,l>efn|^p^ pf ti^e v4?|jor^ ei^Bl9yftd,in ^^e general, 
dissi^utipip, '4t is cerm^j fj^ bis.jipHpensjR |c)i;tMpe.4ro«ei 
f^optt;\*jhat .gi^^^ hjii^^ aft^ dlwrte4 bi^i 

t^o^ughts frofl} ^p,regulj^y ,jpjr95^3ippj of, tb^ J^w, .. Befei^J 

1^556, he^^ppifar? t? Mv^^lv^SR ^fuall35fl<W8eps^d)9Jf WPi^e^. 
tbigih tbfrt^ WiW?rs i^/te,,9pup4^,pf.P*fofid, *,QJlouc^$t§f^., 

other considerable ^(;^^^p(}i'^T#'^t^,^4^^^*¥^' (Sof^pjTi 
thesp ,]pp^s^f^opi^w%^,mp^Mif^ l>yJUenfy XJHc but the 
greyest pi^rt w^^p(j44;i^« I^|>j^r9b9?p ,?(|iiteiLh9 W.ai^ Wi^-i 
n^cte^ ^^i^9<^li^ ,S^uf ^ ^ ^i^l^i^^T^^tioDS, and many of bis 
•states >y^je^ug|^f, of giiee^^M^^^^ .„ l»,,ui;rf ^.;/. ^u 

ewployed|^in. .yario^ p^m^e^, j^^4,att^<Jp9eB^, a):^t cQurt, i 
buiijn tfOfi^pf^^of^ affefijin^ imfi;9$tif:^fan^wh«n I|f$ulvaftjL 
se'nt^ by th^l^ipg t0|i5;fofi9..^is,^fl\4,^i^d,^^^^^ 
Thoina^.|k(^ore, 9f,,t^^.^hoj|^..^Boi9Jte4 ,f<>r hisrfXi^ipiJ^^ 
(^^ MpK^fi ..Qp tbj; ac9^^i9p c^ ?4i«W» VJt^,^ b#i«W 
not of, tfi^ rj9t9Bfijie4jrgpgioa, sijr '?!|wMpws J^ppct^jre^^ed 
no f?Jvour oj^ x^qe,;jl^vt^ij?jiep,a^^ 



.1 
i 



a ppinini^siQnj fpf tt^ci-mpr^^pffep^Hal ^upprej^pnojf^^etios^' [ 
in concert witb B99n^f and.9t|iersi, bpt Jji^ Rgiid^^ 
the princess (^fterwafdjp q^een). Cliff be^^wa^ pl^e4:ttAd^j 
bis care in ^555^ wasiar qppr^ tq his ,9fe4ifc *.4f^r hf^^^gli 
beeii ionprisbpea, iQ ^l^e '^Q^fir ^ud ^^ WQpd^ackf^tshe.waiS. « 
permitted ^y,ter.j(?filous sister tp retire ^wit]^^sir^T,bpf«aa./ 
Popp to katj^ercfrhou^ie^ ii^ P^lrtfpr^sh^re, l^^n afroy*l|M|r.;i 

lacq, whejje be.sl^ejye^ ber everyjnarjk pfre^pcpt fbaj i^ajL t 
cqnsi$ten^ w^tb tbe- pati^r^f/d^bls qliargey .^pd niqrj^ thsm 
could bave been expected fropi-pne of .bis; rigid ^(Jber^ice. > 
to tlje reigninjg politics^ After a residence bef^pf foUti| 
years, sbe was raisexit to tbe tbrone on tbe death of her 



184 POPE. 

. . . • • 

sister .Marjr, Nor. 17, 1558, aiid on this occasion sir Tb^ 
mas does not appear to have been contiriued in the privy* 
council, nor bad be afterwards any concetn in political 
transactions. He did not, indeed, survive the accession, 
of Elizabeth above a year, as he died Jan. 29, 1559, at bis 
house in Cierkenwell, which was part of the dissolved mo««,. 
nastery there. No circunistances of his illness or death 
have -been discovered. Mr. Warton is inclined to think 1 
that he was carried off by a pestilential fever, which raged 
with uncommon violence in the autumn of 15 53. He wa* 
interred, in great state, in the parish church. of St. Ste* 
pben*s,Walbropk, where his second wife,Margaret; had been , 
before buried, and his daughtier Alice. *'But in 1567 ttieir^. 
bodies were rednoved to the chapel of Trinity college, and 
again interred on the north side of the altar under a tomb 
of gothic workmanship, on which are the recumbent Bgures . 
of sir Thomas tn complete armour, and his. third wiifQ , 
Elizabeth, large as the life, in alabaster. 
^ Sir Thomas Pope was tb rice married. His first wife was 
Elizabeth Guhston, from 'whom be was divorced July 1 1„ 
L536i His second was Margaret Dodtner,. wido^^ to whom , 
he was married July 17, 1536^. Her maiden name was 
Townsend, a native' of Stamford in Lincoloshire, and the . 
relict of Ralph Dodmer, knight, sberifF and lord-mayor of . 
London. By sir Thomas Pope she had only one daughter^ 
Alice^' who .died very young, but she bad two sons by heir . 
former husband, whom sir TbonGias treated as his own. ,She . 
died in 153a, after which, in 1540, he ;married Elizabeth 
the daughter of Walter Blount, esq. .of Blount's Hall, in 
StaiFordshire. . She was at that time the widow of Anthony * . 
Basford, or Beresford, esq of Bently, in Derbyshire, by 
whom she had one son, but no childrien by sir Thomas 
Pope. After Sir Thomas's death she married sir Hugh 
Powlett, of Hinton St. George, in Somersetshire, the son 
of sir Amiais Powlett, who was confined iti the Temple by 
the order of cardinal Wolsey. Sir Hugh joined heT cor- 
dially in her regard and attentions to the college, of which , 
she was now styled the foundress: She died at an ad- 
vanced age, Oct 27, 1593, at Tyttenhanger, in Hertford- 
shire, the favourite seat of sir Thomas Pope, and was in-^ 
terred, in solemn pomp, in the chapel of Trinity college. 

Mr. Warton's character of sir Thomas Pope must not be 
omitted, as it is the result of a careful examination of hi^ ^ 
public and private conduct. He appears to have been a * 



. V 



POPE.' 1«5' 

ni|Hi eminently qtialified for business; and althougli not 
^ployed in the very principal departments of state, be 
possessed peculiar talents and address for tbe management . 
and execution of public affairs. His natural abilities were 
strong, bis knowledge of the world deep and extensive, bit , 
judgment solid and discerning. His circumspection and 
prudence in the conduct of negociations entrusted to bis . 
cbarge, were equalled by bis fidelity and perseverance*. 
IJe is a conspicuous instance of one, not bred to the church, . 
wl^o, without the advantages of birth and patrimony, by the 
force of understanding and industry, raised himself to > 
opulence and honourable employments. He lived in an , 
a^e when the peculiar circumstances of the times afforded 
oqvious temptations to the most abject desertion of prin- 
ciple ; and few periods of our history can be found which . 
exhibit more numerous examples of occasional compliance . 
with frequent. changes. Yet he remained unbiassed and 
uncorrupted amid the general depravity. Under Henry 
VIII. when on the dissolution of the monasteries he was . 
enabled by the opportunities of his situation to enrich him- 
self with their revenues by fraudulent or oppressive prac- 
tices, he behaved with disinterested integrity ; nor does . 
a. single instance occur upon record which impeaches 
bis honour. ^ In the succeeding reign of Edward VI. a sud- , 
den check was given to bis career of popularity and pros- 
perity ; he retained his original attachment to the catholic 
religion ;.and on that account lost those marks of favour 
or distinction which were so liberally dispensed to the 
sycophants of Somerset, and which he might have easily 
secured by a temporary submission to the reigning system. 
At the accession of Mary be was restored to favour ; yet 
he was never instrumental or active in the tyrannies of that 
qvieen which disgrace our annals. He was armed with dis- 
cretionary powers for the suppression of heretical innova- 
tions ; yet he forbore to gratify the arbitrary demands of 
his bigoted mistress to their utmost extent, nor would he 
participate in forwarding the barbarities of her bloody per- 
secutions. In the guardianship of the princess Elizabeth, 
tbe unhappy victim of united superstition, jealousy, re- 
venge^ and cruelty, his humanity prevailed over his interest, 
arid be less regarded the displeasure of the vigilant and un- 
forgiving queen, than the claims of injured innocence. If 
it be his crime to have accumulated riches, let it be re- 
meogibered, that he consecrated a part of thpse riches, ncrt 



9lMA ^ the terrors of a'd^tfa-bed/ irbr* in tSe*drfea^ilt>Y oHP 
a^e, but inf' the prime of life, and the' yigoiit o^uMi^iJ* 
standing; to t&e^ pubKc service of bid country^;* thfath^ 
gkie them to future' generations for the perlietuafsA^'^^l^t^ 
of literature and relijgion. 

• Str TTibmas Pope^is certainly in the prirte of Hf^'WEeA' ^ 
lafb determined to found a college, the nebesii^tj^ of wlii'<ih^ 
was to him' apparent, fromr-tbe actual state^of 'the' uhiver-* 
sity, and'the' increasing zeal' for literatui'e, wbiiih ^ hatl i A^ 
less than half a*' ccnttriry produced three new c6llegferf in'^ 
Oxford, and four in- Cambridge. Like soth'e of the oiB^t^ 
Idafnfed 'of his' predecessors in these mtihiftc^l?' acts; he** 
siw the necessity of providing far classical itterature,' 'afid^ 
his teacher of humanity, is specially enjoined to inspire bi^^ 
scholars with a just taste for the graces; of th^'Lattn' lan*"^ 
gfaage, and to'explain critically the works of Cicero; Qdih^ * 
titian, Aulus Gellius, Plautus^ Terence, Virgil, Horace, ' 
tivy, and Ludan/ From these and otHer iftjutictidns re- ' 
specting the same subject, it may be -infemd^ that'af- 
though Mr. Warton has not made it a promineht feature iti^^ 
hts character^ the founder's 'acquaintance^ with clasdd^f * 
learning was not inferior to his other accompltshnfients. 

"The site chosen for his new foundatibriVai' a^ this time^ 
occupied' by Durham 'college, which Edwttrd VI. granted ^^ 
td George Owen, of Godstowe, the king^ physictaby a^ 
man of great learning and eminence, and William''Mariy/i,*'> 
gentleman, in 1552; and sir Thomas* ptfrchised. tb^'pFe- * 
mises of these genilemeri by" indenture dated Feb. 20, 1 554.*' 
<Jn March 8, arid March 28, he obtained from* *Phi% * 
and Mafy a royal licence and charter to create and erect a ^ 
college within the university of Oxford, under the title of'^ 

CoLLEGiaM SANCTiE ET INBIVIDU^ TrINITATIS IN UNIVER-' 

sitate Oxon. ex fundatione THOMiE Pope miutis. ' The ' 
sdciety was to consist 6f a president, a priest, twelVe fel- * 
lows, four of whom shotiid'be priests, and 'eight^sdbolkr^^ ^ 
(afterwards increased to twelve) and the whole to be Hberatly ' 
aifd amply endowed with certain manors, lands, and' re^ • 
venues. They were to be elected out of thediocbiie ai^d '^ 
pbcW where the college' hsts" benefices,' mftnors, or W- ' 
venues, mbre particularly in Oxfordshire, Gioubfestelrsttrei ' 
tVarwickshire, Derbyshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordstere,^ *^ 
aifd Kent The same charter empowered him to foiind "^ 
aifdeiidbw a school at'Hokenorton, in Oxfordirfaire; to* )»e ' 
called Jesus iSchciekouse: un& to\grve statdtes both to th^e^*' 



^<lil9ge« ttad to^ tlM» » first ! aod . steand nnwVtnr) of iiie'dtiii>' 
9c^mi, ApcLby <Waid^ daled MliAcb ^^ftj t i d Si^ hes^fadhndd 
his. nctval er^dioiit aiMk e6taWii|fa«leiit of^tfae l saidvcdlfege^' 
aQdtt^t^;8Wiffdftjriddivtered'^)MM*sm hcforeia^^itt^tcmiw 
€ojurs« of wiuie$509^ ta Um^^ preaideoii f ftUo«i«)^nd seb6kiM« 
Ii|^41aj^'foU«wiag( Jb«r«i&ppii(dil^> bisr colleg^^witW Mces9a;riet( 
at>di i|Dpj<wi»Bte of every kiiifd«::badka|tfurnhure' for thef^ 
chf^p^y.oC- tb^ iBO^ co»tty kind$,aind'*nett yeatrhct.triiiitB;«' 
mU^ed- arbody olsuuatea^o^tbeisoci^tjrv diM;ed»Mey}l^li5iMi'i 
Tiiqse st^Miie^ he ba«i'8id>niHed<>tOjtberei^i9ioti of caffdinalV' 
Pple» . from^ i wJiom > his received / soittevaluftble - bin ts.:? Oofi 
tli4^8tb of (he^aoiecinontb; .Mayi sbd gavethem one^fauti**^' 
dijed ppmids asra^stQck for* immediate'povposea ; .aoditbe^ 
eodo^'^^^i^i^Vby thirty -five maoons^ thirteen advoirsoatE',' be^ - 
sid^siippropriations aqd p^miobs^iwasi coinpIetedt<bifore,:^ 
oriu|>pn,-,tbe^ feasit of Aniiaoeiationy ini thesame-y^ar ; alid* * 
tbe first president, felfows add^sebolars, nouiinatedfby hinx** 
sed^. w^rehforiually (admitted witbin <the"chapd{^ A&y Sd, 
on tbe eve : of Trinity >Sunday^ Duriog' his" Itfe^tiaie;* the*'' 
£^qder n<munated.tbe f^UowsaodaeboUrs^^andafter^avds^ 
dotegaled; thei power to biat widotv^Mdame .' EKaabelb^ of^ 
nQQiinatiogvtbe scholars^ >aad presentingito .the radvd^soif^ 
af)d tbis.«be cQtHinued to exoreise during .her long life^ .bdt ^ 
wit^ sofiie inlerruptiOcis^ aad isome^ opppsii;ioii.: O^i^onft' 
OQcasioo'tbe college rejjected ber nominatioo to a «cbplar-i 
shig^Mtad .cboiaa> another candidate^ but ontan itappcfeil id ' 
tbf^ yis^itdr^ Jbe decided tin iber; fa^oon She som^imes nko ^ 
nqminai^d. the fellows, ,and onoe a f>resstdeqt; Bot- both 
sbi&aQd bqr btiisliaady sir HugblPowlett; were solib^htfrrd - 
pQMotual in falfillifig therfoufides^s indentions, andin con-- 
trU>iHi»g -to ttbe prosperity of the'college,^ that «be wtts-in^ 
goi^esral obeyied with respect and gratitude;^ 

OnSt* jSmtbin'4 day,' July 15^ 1^56, tbe foaitdei^ visited ' 
hia coUeg^^. ^aecaoapahied iby the bishops of '^Winchester- 
and Elyj; Wbyte and Thirlbj^ and other etDioeiit personages] 
wto'.wese'eiHertainedsaaiptitoti^ in. tbe >haM; thewbolia^' 
eiq^oaes o£ whicb wenet^tidsby him to; the b^jrsar on the ^ 
saine day# < Nor. wsia tim -a stngultamact of litx^rality^' for it - 
appears :thiil> daring liiarTbie^idae he paid alt the university 
e3qpeaoaB<i>(;.degieie9$. regencies, .and determinatiionsv -for 
the fellows and scholars.' He: also continued to se>ndiva^> 
TioMfr.Klicdeasof rieb farokore Anr the ctiapebaod hati^ and 
a great quantity of valua.ble plate, and made considerable 
additiotts tor- the'-perimrnt^ errddmnent, by new fevetiues 



1»8. F O P E. 

far. five obits or dirges, yectrlj? to be sung ahd celebHited ^ 
as festivals in bis college. About the same time he founded' * 
four additional scholarships, from the endowment of the ' 
school intended to have been Established at Hokenorton, ^ 
but which intention he now abandoned, thinking it more '\ 
beneficial to the public to increase the number of scholars - 
.in the university. In December 1557, he announced his * 
intention of building a house at Garsington, near Oxford, ' 
to which the society might retire in time of the plague. 
This was built after his death, pursuant to his wiH, in a 
quadrangular form ; and it appears from the college books '^ 
li»at they took refuge herein 1570-1, and again in 1577. 
Oo the former occasion they were visited by sir Hugh -' 
Powlett. At this bouse they performed the same exer<> -^ 
cises, both of learning and devotion, as when in college. 
In. 1563, before this house was completed, they retired, '- 
during a plague, to Woodstock.^ - 

.POPE (Walter), a man of wit and learning irt the se*^ * 
venteenth century, was born at Fawsley in Northampton-^ 
shire, in what year is not mentioned. He was half brother - 
to Dr. John Wilkins, bishop of Chester, by the mother^s ' 
«ide. He was admitted of Trinity college, Cambridge,- iii - - 
1 645, but is supposed for some reason to have left that soon*; * 
for Wadham college, Oxford, where he obtained a scho- 
Jarship, and took the degree of B. A. July 6, 1649. In'/ 
July 165r the parliamentary visitors admitted him probti*-- ' 
tioner fellow, although he does not appear to have been; of ' 
their principles, and in the same month he commenced- 
master of . arts. In 1658, while he served the office of ' - 
junior proctor, a controversy took place respecting the ' . 
wearing of caps and hoods^ which the reigning party con« ' 
sidered as reliquesof popery, and therefore wished to abo^' . 
lish the statute which enjoined them. This he contrived 
to oppose with so much success that all the power of the' 
republicans was not sufficient to carry the point, and these • 
articles of dress continued to be worn until the restoration. - 
Of this affair, which he calls '' the most glorious action of- * 
his life,'* he has given a full account in his Life of Dn ' 
Ward, bishop of Salisbury, and expresses his displeasure * 
that Antony Wood should, in his " Annals," have passed^ * 
over an event so honourable tohim. 

Towards the end of the above year, 1658^ and before "* « 

at • • • • • 

1 W«rtoo'0 Life of »r Thomaa Pope.— Cluilmer«*s flitt; of Offorjd, ^. ^ . _ 



;p o p E. IS* 

•Utt-^proctorsbip expired, he obtaiaed leave' to travel, but 
reiurned probably before 1660, as we then find him dean 
pfWadbam. college ; and when, in the same year Mr. (after* 
wards, sir) : Christopher Wren resigned the professorship 
of astronomy in Gresham college, Mr. Pope was chosen :iii 
Ilia room,, atid Sept«, 12 of that year was created doctor of 
physic ; but the statutes not permitting him to hold both^ 
he was obliged on this occasion to resign his fellowship in 
JlVadbam. In May 1663 he was chosen one of the first 
fellows of the Royal Society along with the other eminent 
men* whom .the nation then yielded, and soon after, had 
licence to travel for two years, during which he made the 
tour of Italy, and remitted to the Royal Society various 
observations collected on his journey. In 1667 he was 
chosen into the council of the Royal Society, and in the 
following year, his half-brother Dn Wilkins, being pro- 
moted to the bishopric of Chester, made hkn registrar of 
that diocese. In 16'86 he was recovered of an inflamma- 
tion in his eyes, whicb endangered the loss of sight, by 
Dr. Turbervile^ an eminent oculist, as he gratefully ac-* 
knowledged in an epitaph which he wrote upon him after 
his death. ^ In the following year be resigned his Gresham. 
professorship. 

. Dr. Pope was a man of humour and a satirist, and in 
both characters had published in 1670 the ^* Memoirs of 
Mons.-Du Vail^ : with his last speech and epitaph." Du 
Yall was a notorious highwayman^ who was hanged in 1669 
at Tyburn, and' having been much admired and bewailed 
by the ladies, our author by this piece of biography en* 
deavoured to cure them of such weakness or aflPectation, 
and ^o' direct their esteem to more worthy objects. In 
1693, , he published his well-known song called *^ The 
Wish,", or:** The Old Man's Wish," which may be seen in* 
Mr. Niobols's collection of Miscellany Poems, and perhaps. 
in '^very collection of English songs. Vincent Bourne 
wrote a beautiful imitation of it in Latin. This wish seems, 
to have been in some - measure accomplished - in- bis own 
.ca#e, for in his life of bishop Ward, published in 1697, he 
teys, ** I thank God, I am arrived to a good old age without 
gdut, orstoiie, with my external senses but little decayed ; 
and my intellectuals, tho' none of the best, yet as good as 
ever :tbeyf were/' . In the following year he was involved in 
a tedious law-suit, which gave him much uneasiness, but 
what the subject was, his biogjrapher has not discovered. 



<9D t* D T IE, 

Jo J699^f](l^ilMraw ham the iRoijnal '8ociet^^^«8t|gfDiii||r 
wwBy \BrohMy toivetive into tbe country^ Arid iecijo^rffainMehP 
io ^ociie neapeetsmgreedbJy ,to bia ^ Widi.** >^cocdlrngljf 
bfiiSfifint smicb df his time -aftervrards at Epsotn, 'InitAt iasa 
tetded in Eunbill fiekk, .^eti a«abui?b ioT London, urbeti^ 
lie diedy'in aTerj;advianced age, in: June l*714,.fand'W8^ 
)>ttried iacihcicbuvcfa of 'St.^Giies's Crippleg^e. 
. lie fliaiataiaed an intinate feiendsbip vmhtvo^teiyvnri^' 
Bent and bearned men, Mr. Roake and Br^ Batrow; ^tit»hi^ 
greatest friend and pa^on, next to his brother bishop' WSk 
kioB, WM Dr. Seth Ward, bishop of ^liaboiy, fwfabBe tUte 
be MTote, and from whom he bad a p«mion of iO(tf. % year^ 
His intimaoy with ibis e!xceilent prelate seems to cbdtntdict 
the character Anthony Wood givevoFbin, ^athe led ^an 
*^ Epacurean aodibeatbenish tife,^ but cbece wafe eene eaose 
of qq^rrel ^between Wood and Dr. Pop^, and the foraier,.w^ 
know, w^ too apt to put bis resentments in 'wmiDg; JPope 
was a man of wit as well as learning, bbt ceriMniy ttidt tt 
eorreet or elegant wrtter« He was a ^^ood .French a»d ha-s 
lian scholar, aad well aoqaaiiMMxl also with the Spanisb 
language. In tbe Philosophical Transactions (April IM5)^ 
is by him f^ Extract of a letter from Vjenioe ita Dr. Wrifcins; 
concerning the mines of mercury in Friaii, &a" and '^Ob^^ 
servatioQS oaade at London upon an edipse of the-i^an, 
June 82, ]:€66/' His Other woAb are, ^f The' Memoirs o# 
Mons. Dtt YalV menticnicd abore^ Lond. l&IOf 4to; -^T^' 
the Memory of die most renowned Du V«aU, a^ Piadari^ 
Ode,'' ibid. t671» 4to^ said in tbe title to be written by^ 
Butler, and since printed among bis ^^ Remmis," and ki- 
bis '< Works."* Dr. Pope wrote aUo ^Tbe Caoholit: Baikrd,'*> 
and other verses, which are inserted in Mr. Nicho)s*0 Col*^* 
fection ; ** Select Novels,^' 161^4,' from the Spanisb of C^f^-^ 
vantes and tbe Italtan of Petrareb ; ^' lUoeal and Politteaf 
Fables, ancient and modern,*' ibid. |j6M, 8va But hia 
most use&l publication is ^<The Life of the Right Hevr 
Setfa, Lord Bishop of Salisbopy,'* a small volume printed' 
at London in' 1497, wfaieh contains: ma»y aneodotes of thaft' 
prelate's contemporaries^ Wilkins^ Barraw, Rooke^ Tavw 
betvdlle^ tpo; Dr. Thos. Wood^ a aivilian, and t^Mtitu '<^ 
Ant. Wood, pnbliflbed some severe aniflffiSihreMions onthia 
lifie In what he entitled:^ Air Appeffdii&>4o the UA^i &e. tiv 
ai Letter re the Authov,^a.t' i€br7, ifsaib, but*^s isiniial^ 
moiie aeane' than the otberl*'.* 

. •....,»t. r\ .'■ 

1 Ward's Gretham Prafanori.'— ^b. Ox. t«L ^•-^Hiokn^'g PoeiM. 



P O P H A ]\f, : Ipl 

,P^OPfHAM (^iji Jop^)^ ^n E;nglwh la«y^r.of ep^injwi^p, 

was the.eui^st.son qf E^Wjard Pophaai, lesq. of ^up^w^nh 

iniSbmers^etsbirp^^ pnd .bom in 1>3.1. lle.was^ome time^a 

.■student at B^aliol coU^ge , in Oxford, bqing.tl^eji, fts Wpoid 

My^9 ^jgiYcp aj ,l^ij5ui:,e hpur^s to manly sports apd €xercUes« 

^w ben lie removed to tbe Middle Temple, he .is wd at &^t 

to have ^ed^^^dii^pated Jifc, Nbut emptying .dilijgently /ifter- 

'^wards totbesitijay ox tbe law, Jbe i^Qse to 9ome of hs highest 

onpu^s.. He ws^s qiade secjeaqt ^t law about 157Q, «oU-> 

citor-gepiprj^ in,lf>79, .a^d attorney •general in 168l,;wbe>v 

he also bqr$ tb^ officp of treiisjurer of tb^ Middle Tenopl^. 

"tfi 1^92, h^ was p/pmoted to tbe rank of chief j|39ltiic^..<;if 

^thecouiritqf king'srt^^nch ; not of the common j)leaf^,a|]i, 

fi^o^i sqmp expressions of his own, has been erroneoii^sly 

^Supposed, and at tbe it^me time he was ^Digbted. |o .l60fL 

tie was one of the J^v^y^s d^tain^d by tbe linfortqnate ^fl 

of jE^ssex, iwh^n )ie formed tbe absurd prcgect of 4^Q4i4^^ 

himself in l;iis tiQu^e ^ and oio the earPs yr\^ gave ,^v^dei|c^ 

lagain^t Hipii r^^atixe ^tQ Uieir d^ent^cyi: fie dif d in i6iyj^ 

it tbe age of s^y^ejpty-si'x, and lyas buried at WelHipg-toi? ifi 

ijis ns^tiye poqntr^, wher^ be bad f Ip^^ys raided a^ ipMfs^ . 

as his iyocatiopb yvoi^Id pejrmit. He wf^s e^^en(ied ^ s^v^er^ 

Judge in th^ (jase of I'obhters ; but b^s severity was w^JIt 

tim^d, asitV^di^c^d the jnumber .of highwaymen, wl^.b/^? 

iifte ^adi^ greatly Jnfesjted the cou^.try. If Aubrey na^y Ije 

credited, his general character ^•as lial^le to naaoy $eripu» 

i^xceptions. llis wor^^ are, !• ^^ R^pprts and Cases, a^d^^* 

judged m the time of queen Elizabeth," London, 16^6, fol« 

^. ^'Resolutions and Ju()gements upon Cases and Mattery 

agitated in all tl)e Cdiijrts ^t Wejstmiouster in tk^ Is^tter end 

of queen Elizabeth," London, 4to. Both lord Holt an4 

chief justice Hy4^ considered the Reports aef of po autho- 

" PpRCApCHI (Thomas), a learned Italian ojf the six- 
teenth 'century, was bor,n at Castiglione A^^Uno. While 
^ident^at Venice in 15.59, be assisted in makine a coUec-^ 
fion of all th^ Oreek histpriaos, or annalists, from whose 

Greelf 
licli 

tYate the greater. Porcacchi was likewise editor or tran$^ 

' Ath. Ox. vol. I.— I^loyd's State Worthies. — Letters hy pqnmeot Venot^p 
with tbe Aubrey MSS. 181 3> ^ vols. dVa.-^Fuller^s Worthies:— BV%eEp»Q> 

Mgal Bibliog#«iWiy; '' '^ ^ 



\^2 P O R C A C C H I- 

lalor of Pompoiiius Mela, Quintus Cuttius, and ti.riou« 
other authors, and published some original works iii poetry, 
history, antiquities, and geography. The most valued of 
these is his *^ Funerali antichi di divert! popttli, &c.^* 
Venice, 1574, 4to, the plates of which are very fine. He 
died in 1585.^ 

PORCELLUS, or PORCELLIO (Peter), a Neapo- 
litan of the fifteenth century, is said to have been a swine- 
herd in bis youth, fro6i which circumstance he had the 
'Dame of Porcellus. He was born about 1400, and there* 
fbre could not haVe lived in the time of Petrarch, as Vos- 
sius and Bailtet have asserted. How be emerged from ofat- 
scurity is not known, but it is certain that he calls himself 
secretary to the king of Naples, and was much esteemed bjr 
Frederic, duke of Urbino, a celebrated general, who died 
•1482. He was also in the Venetian army in 1452, which 
gave him occasion to write the history of count James Pici- 
nini, who fought for the Venetians at his own expehce, and 
not only honoured Porcellus with his esteem, but lodged 
*bim in bis house, and admitted him ddly to his table. Mu« 
ratori published this fragment of history,' 1?3I, in vol. XX 
of his historical collections. He had written a supplement 
to it which remains in MS. and some Epigrams, in a simple 
and natural style, which were printed with other Italian 
poems, Paris, 1539, 8vo. He died some time after 1452.f 

PORC HERON (David PLAcmE), a learned Benedictine^ 
was born in 1652, at Cbateauroux in Berry. He was well 
acquainted with languages, history, geography, heraldry, and 
medals ; and had the office of librarian in the abbey of St* 
Germain-des-Prez, where he died, February 14, 1695^ 
aged 42. He published an edition of the '^ Maxims for the 
Education of a young Nobleman," 1690, after having, cor* 
rected the language, and added a translation of the empe- 
ror Basilius the Macedonian's instruction to his son Leo, 
with the lives of those two princes. An edition of the. 
^ Geography of the Anonymous Author of Ravenna,*' was 
tilso published by him at Paris, 1688, 8vo. with curious and 
learned notes ; a work very useful for the geography of 
the middle ages, as this anonymous author lived in the, 
7th century. He also assisted in the new edition of St.. 
Hilary.* 

1 Niceron, toI.XXXTV.— Moreri«— >Tir«ib9fehi. 

* Jioferi.^B«iUet.--Dict. HbU > Moreri.— Diet l|»t. ^ 



P O R D E N O N E. IVM 

PORDENONE (John Antony Licinius), kDown by the 
formlr name, from the village of Pordenone, about twenty* 
five miles from Uctino, in which he was born in 1484, had a/ 
^strong talent for historical painting, which he carried to a 
higti degree of perfection, without any other aid than the 
'careful study of the works of Giorgione. He painted at 
first in fresco, but afterwards in oil, and was particularly 
distinguished by his skill in foreshortening his figures. His 
invention was fertile, his taste good, his colouring not 
unlike that of Titian, and his designs had the merit of 
uniting force aad ease. A strong emulation subsisted be- 
tween him and Titian ; and it is certainly no small merit thfit 
lie was able to sustain any competition with such a master. 
It is said, however, that they who endeavoured to suppbct 
liim in this rivalship, were actuated by malignity aiTd envy^ 
towards Titian. It is related also, that when he worked in the 
^ame town with Titian, he was so afraid of the effects of his 
jealousy, that he never walked out without arms offensive 
and defensive. Pordenone painted at Genoa f6r prince 
Doria, but did not there give entire satisfaction ; he then 
returned to Venice, and was afterwards invited to Ferrara 
by the duke of that state, from whom he received many 
signal marks of favour and esteem. He died in 1540, at 
the age of fifty-six, and his death has been by some anthers 
attributed to poison given by some painters at Ferrara, jea- 
lous of the distinctions he received at court The most 
considerable picture which Rome possesses of him, is that 
with the portraits of his family, in the palace Borghese. 
But perhaps his most splendid work in oil is the altar-piece, 
at S. Maria dell' Orto, at Venice, which represents a S. 
Lorenzo Giustiniani, surrounded by other saints, among 
whom a 9t. John Baptist surprises no less by correctness of 
forms, than a St. Augustin by a boldness of foreshortening 
which makes his arm start from the canvas. 

The frescoes of Pordenone are spread over the towns and 
eastles of Friuli ; some are found at Mantua, Genoa, Ve-^ 
nice, but the best-preserved ones are at Piacenza and Cre-* 
mona. In these he is not always equal, but all bear marks 
of innate vigour and bold conception ; of a mind, as eager 
fo form as to resolve difficulties in variety of .expression^ 
singularity of perspective, novelty of fore-shortening, aQ4 
magic resources of chiaroscuro. He had an iniitatoT 
in Bernardino Licinio, who from the surname may be sup* 
posed to have been related to him : and Sandrart mentions^ in 

Vol. XXV. O 



194 P O R D E N O N E. 

a bigh strain qf praise, Giulio Licinio de Pordenonei . as 
his nephew and scholar; who, according to that author,' 
quitted Venice, and left frescoes of extraordinary beantjr* 
at Augsburg.^ 

FORE'E (Charles), a zealous and learned Jesuit, was^ 
born in 1675, at Vendees, near Caen, and after pu/siiing: 
his theological studies at Paris, in 1708, he was nominated^ 
to the chair of rhetoric in the college of Louis le Grand^ 
which he filled with great diligeuce, success, and reputa- 
tion, for thirty-three years, and formed many pupils that 
did honour to the instructions of their master. He died iu 
1741, at the age of sixty-six* His writings are nuknerous, 
chiefly in the Latin language : there are two '' Collections 
of Harangues,^' published in 1735 and 1747.; also six Latin 
tragedies and five Latin, comedies. He was also author of 
several fugitive pieces in prose and verse. He had. a bro^ 
ther, Charles Gabriel, who died in 1770, at the age of S5,- 
a considerable writer, but known principally for a work en-> 
titled " Nouvelles Literaires de Caen,** in 3. vols« 8.vo^ 
being a collection of pieces in prose and verse, written by 
the academicians of that city, and also for *^ Forty-foqv 
Dissertations on different subjects,** read before thb aca-* 
demy of Caen, of which he was a member more than thirty, 
years.* 

PORPHYRIUS, a philosopher of great name among, the 
ancients, was born A.D. 233, in the reign of Alexander 
Severus. He was of Tyre, and had the name of Malchus^ 
in common with his father, who was a Syrophoeniciani St^ 
Jerome and St. Augustin have called him Bataneotes; 
whence Fabricius suspects, that the real place of his nati-t 
yity was Batanea, a town of Syria ; and that he was carried 
thence wit^l a colony to Tyre.. His father very early, in^ 
troduced him to the study of literature and philosophy un-* 
det the Christian preceptor Origen, probably while be was 
teaching at Caesarea in Palestine. He then went to Athens, 
where he had the famdus Longinus for his master in the* 
toric, 'who changed his Syrian name Malchds, as not very 
pleafttng to Grecian ears,, into that of - Porphyrias, which 
ansiyers to it in Greek.^ It is in a great measure^owing to 
this able teacher^ that we find so many proofs. of eruditioo^ 
and so much elegance of style, in the writings of Porphy<t 
ritts^'* From this^time^ we have little information ooncerim 

J Pilkingtoi— D'irgenvUle, rol 1. .^ Moreri.— Diet, Hist. 



PORPHTRIUa 



195 



ilig him ontil his proceeded to Rome, where, at thirty yean 
oF age, he heard Plotinus, whose life he has written, and 
inserted in. it many particulars concerning himself*. Five 
years after, he went to reside at Lilybseum in Sicily, on 
which account he is sometimes called Siculus : and here> 
as Ettsebius and Jerome relate, he composed those famous 
books against the Christians, which, for the name and aui 
thority of the man, and for the acuteness and learning wittL 
which they were written, were afterwards thought so con- 
siderable, as to be suppressed by particular edicts, under 
the reigns of Constantine and Theodosius. Some have 
surmised, that these books are still extant, and secretly pre** 
served in the Duke of Tuscany's library ; but there is little 
doubt that they were destroyed by the mistaken zeal of the 
Christians, The circumstances of Porphyrius's life, after 
his arrival in Sicily, are little known ; except that he died 
at Rome, towards the end of Dioclesian's reign, abont the 
year 304. Some have imagined that he was in the 
early part of bis life a Christian, but afterwards, through 
flpme disgust or other, deserted that profession, and became 
its decided enemy ; while^ others have hinted, that he em- 
braced Christianity when he was old, and after he had writ*- 
ten with great acrimony against it ; but for neither of these 
opinions is there any good authority. 

Porphyrins wrote a great number of books, the far greater 
part of which have perished. Some have wished that his 
books against the Christians bad come down to us, because 
they are firmly persuaded that, among innumerable blas^ 
phemies against Christ and his religion, which might easily 
have been confuted, many admirable things would have 
been found. We doubt, however, whether the world 



* ** porphyrins was six years a diligent 
studeot of the Eclectic system; and 
became so entirely attached to his mas- 
ter, and so perfectly acquainted with 
hit doctrine, that Plotinus esteemed 
him one of the greatest ornaments of 
his school, and fi^neiitly Muplnyed 
him in refuting the objections of hit 
opponents, and in explaining to his 
yonnger p«ipils the more difficiilt parts 
of hit writings : he even intrusted him 
with ^he charge of methodising and 
cofrectinfp his works. The fanatical 
spirit of the philosophy, to which Por- 
phyrias addiotedhimselffConcurred with 
^ nataral propensity towards oeltn- 



choly to produce a resohition. which hte 
formed about the thirty-sixth year of 
his age, of putting an end to his life ; 
purposing hereby, according to thfe 
Platonic doctrine, to release hia soul 
from her wretchjpd^ prison, the body. 
From this mad design he was, howcTet, 
dissuaded by his roaster, who advisea 
him to divert his melancholy by takin^p 
a journey to Sicily, to risU his friend 
Probus, an acconiplUbed and excellent 
man, who lived near LilybsBum. Poiw 
phyrius followed the advice of Plotmus, 
and recovered the tigour and tmquiU 
lity of his mind." Bruckei^ 



03 



196 P O R P H Y R I U S. 

would have reaped any great benefit from these, since nei- 
ther his judgment nor his integrity was equal to his learn « 
ing ; and neither the splendour of his diction, nor the va-> 
riety of his reading, can atone for the credulity or the dis- 
Jionesty, which fill the narrative parts of his works with so 
many extravagant tales ; or interest the judicious reader 
in the abstruse^ubtleties, and mystical flights of bis philoso-* 
phical writings. Of his works which remain, the four follow- 
ing, ^^ De abstinentia ab esu animalium ;'' " De vita Pytha^ 
gorae ;" " Seotentiae ad intelligibilia tlucentes ;'* " De 
Antro Nymphorum ;" with a fragment " De. Styge,'* pre- 
served by StobsBus, were printed at Cambridge in 1655, 
8vo, with a Latin version, and the Life of Porphyry sub- 
joined, by Lucas Holstenius. The ** Life of Pythagoras," 
which, however, is but a fragment, has since been published 
by Kusterus, at Amsterdam, 1707, in 4to, in conjunction 
with that written by Jamblichus, who was a disciple of this 
philosopher. It should have been observed, that the above 
pieces of Pythagoras, '.printed at Cambridge, were pub- 
lished jointly with Epictetus and Arrian^s Commentary, 
and the Tabula Cebetis. His treatise '* De Antro Nympho- 
rum'' was reprinted in Greek and Latin, with notes, by 
R. M.Van Goens, at Utrecht in 1765, 4to ; and Jac. de 
Rhoer published a new edition of the treatise <* De Absti- 
nentia'^ at the same place in 1767.^ 

PORSON (Richard), a late eminent Greek scholar and 
most accomplished critic, was born at East Ruston, in Nor- 
folk, Dec. 25 f 1759, and was first initiated in knowledge bj 
bis father, Mr. Huggin Porson, the parish-clerk of East' 
Ruston, who, though in humble life, and without the ad- 
vantages himself of early education, laid the basis of his 
son's unparalleled acquirements. From the earliest dawn 
of intellect, Mr. Porson began the task of fixing the atten-- 
tion of his children, three sons and a daughter; and he 
had taught Richard, his eldest son, all the common rules 
of arithmetic, without the use of a book or slate, pen or 
pencil, up to the cube root, before he was nine years of 
age. The memory was thus incessantly exercised ; and by 
this early habit of solving a question in arithmetic, he ac- 
quired such a talent of close and intense thinking, and such 
a power of arranging every operation that occupied his 
thought, as inrprocess of time to render the most difficult 

1 Brocker. — Caye,— Lardaer's Work8,-?»SaxiJ Ooomast. 



i 

i 



P O R S O N. 197 

problems, which to other men required the assistance of 
written iigureS| easy to the retentive faculties of his me- 
mory. He was initiated in letters by a process equally ef- 
ficacious, and which somewhat resembled Dr. BelFs admi- 
rable plan. His father taught him to read and write at one 
and the same time. He drew the form of the letter either 
with chalk on a board, or with the finger in sand ; and 
Richard was made at once to understand and imitate the 
impression. As soon as he could speak he could trace the 
letters ; and this exercise delighting his fancy, an ardour 
of imitating whatever was put before him was excited to 
such a degree that the walls of the house were covered 
with characters delineated with great neatness and fidelity. 
At nine years of age, he and his youngest brother, Tho- 
mas, were sent to the village school, kept by a Mr. Sum- 
mers, a plain but intelligent man, who having bad the 
misfortune in infancy to cripple his left hand, was educated 
for the purpose of teaching, and he discharged his duties 
with the most exemplary attention. He professed nothing. 
beyond English, writing, and arithmetic ; but he was a 
good accountant, and an excellent writing-master. He 
perfected Mr. Richard Porson in that delightful talent 
of writing, in which he so peculiarly excelled ; but which 
we are doubtful whether to consider as an advantage, or 
a detriment to him, in his progress through life. It cer- 
tainly had a considerable influence on his habits, and made 
him devote many precious moments in copying, which 
might have been better employed in composition. It has 
been the means, however, of enriching his library with an- 
notations, in a text the most beautiful, and with such per- 
fect imitation of the original manuscript or printing, as to 
embellish every work. which his erudition enabled him to 
elucidate. He continued under Mr. Summers for three 
years ; and every evening during that time he had to repeat 
by heart to his father the lessons and the tasks of the day ; 
and this not in a loose or desultory manner, but in the ri- 
gorous order in which they bad been taught; and thu3 
again the process of recollection was cherished and 
strengthened^ so> as to become a quality of his mind. It 
was impossible that such a youth should remain unnoticed, 
feven in a place so thinly peopled, and so obscure, as the 
parish of East Ruston. The reverend Mr. Hewitt, vicar of 
the parish, heard of his extraordinary propensities to study, 
bis gift of attention to whatever was taught him, and the 



198 



P O R S O N. 



wonderful fidelity with which he retained whatever he bad 
acquired. He took him and his brother Thomas under hi« 
care^ and instructed them in the classics. The progress 
of both was great, but that of Richard was most extraordi- 
nary, and when he had reached his fourteenth year, had 
engaged the notice of all the gentlemen in the vicinity* 
Among others, he. was mentioned as a prodigy to an opu- 
lent and liberal man, the late Mr. Norris, of Grosvenor- 
place, who, after having put him under an examination of 
the severest kind, from which an ordinary boy would have 
s^hrunk dismayed, sentliim to Eton in August 1774, whea 
he was in his ISth year. In that great seminary, he almost^ 
from the commencement of his career, displayed such a su- 
periority of intellect, such facility of acquirement, such, 
quickness of perception, and such a talent of bringing^ 
forward to his purpose all that he had ever read, that the 
upper boys took him into their society, and promoted the 
cultivation of his mind by their lessons, as well, probably^ 
as by imposing upon him the performance of their own ex- 
ercises*. He was courted by them as the never-failingr 
resource in every diiSculty ; and in all the playful excur- 
sions of the imagination, in their frolics, as well as in their 
serious tasks, Porson was the constant adviser and support. 
He used to dwell on this lively part of his youth with pe- 
culiar complacency, and used to repeat a drama which he 
wrote for exhibition in their long chamber, and other com- 
positions, both of seriousness and drollery, with a zest that 
the recollection of his enjoyment at the time never failed to 
tevive in him. A very learned scholar, to whom the public 
was indebted for " A short accouut of Mr. Porson," pub* 
lished soon after his death, has the following remarks on his 
progress at Eton : *' By his own confession he learnt no- 
thing, or added little to his stock, at school: and per- 
haps for a good teason, since he had every thing that was 
given him to read, where he was first placed, by heart ; 



* " When be entered Eton, be was 
wholly ignoraot (»f quantity, and after 
he had toiled up the arduous path to 
literary emioence, be was often twitted 
by his quonda,m schoolfellows with tliose 
violations of quantity which are com- 
mon in first attempts at Latin verse. 
Our Gre«k professor always felt sore 
upon this point. One of his best friends 
and greatest admirers has preserved a 
copy of ve^rses, which, indeed, evince 
tbe rapid progress of his mind, but 



would not do honour. to his memory.'* 
Kidd's Imperfect Outline of the Life of 
R. P. p. xi. From the same we learn* 
that ** the Rev. Dr. Davies, late provost 
of Eton, when head-mastef, presegteil 
R, P. with a copy of Toup's lionginus, 
as a mark of his regard for b, good ex- 
ercise. This book B, P. was wont to 
say, first biassed his mind to critical re- 
searches, and Bentley and Dawes che- 
rished aad confirmed that' stroQf pto- 
pensity: the rest he gave himself.*^ Ibid.- 



P O R S O N. 199 

Aat is, he could repeat all the Horace, and all the Vii^l, 
eommoDly read at Eton, and the Iliad, and extracts from 
the Odyssey, Cicero, and Livy, with the Ambubaiarum of 
Horace, the Eclogues and Georgics,^ and the Culex, CiriD, 
and Catalecta, which they do not read. But still, tbough 
he would not own it, he was much obliged to the coir 
lisfon of a public school for the rapidity with wliich h^ 
increased his knowledge, and the correction of himself by 
the mistakes of others.'* 

The death of Mr. Norris was the source of severe mor- 
tification to him ; though, by the kindness of some eminent 
and liberal persons, particularly sir George Baker, he was 
Continued at Eton, and afterwards placed at the university. 
To sir George Baker, his second protector, he inscribed 
one of his Greek plays, " Britanniarum APXIATPXM." It is 
to the fostering hand of this second patron, says Mr. Wes- 
ton, ^' that we are indebted for the noblest plant that ever 
grew in any garden with such spreading branches, so high 
a head, and so deep a root." 

- He was entered of Trinity college towards the end of 
4777, and, his character having preceded him, he was from 
the first regarded as a youth whose extraordinary endow*- 
ments would do. honour to that society. Nor did he dis- 
appoint the hopes that had been formed of him. In every 
branch of study to which he applied himself, his course 
was^c/ rapid as to astonish every competent observer. By 
circumstances common at Cambridge, be was drawn first 
to Yead in mathematics, in which, from his early exercises, 
he was eminently calculated to shine, but from which he 
drew no benefit ; and then, having the prospect of a scho- 
larship, he sat down to the classics^ in which he soon ac- 
.quired undisputed pre-eminence. He got the medal of 
Course, and was elected a fellow in 1781. In 1785 he 
took his degree of master of arts ; but long before the pe- 
riod had elapsed when he must either enter into holy orders 
Or surrender his fellowship, he felt such powerful scruples 
in his mind with regard to subscription, to the articles of 
the church, that he determined to decline it; and, so early 
as 1788, he had made up his mind to surrender his fellow- 
ship, though with an enfeebled constitution he had nothing 
to depend upon but acquirements that are very unprofitable 
to their owner. Accordingly, in 179 1 his fellowship ceased^ 

« <( On ibis oceasion he used to ob- iras a gentleman living in London with* 
tenre,'Witb i^s aaual good-humour (for out a sixpence in bis pocket" Kic^d, 
k'otliiD^ could depress blin), that be p. xiv. 



200 P O R S O N. 

but SOOT) after some private friends stept iOi and in 1793 be 
was elected Greek professor of Cambridge, by as uoanina^ous 
Tote of the seven electors. . The distinction of this appoisiti*^ 
-ment was grateful to him. The salary is but 40/. a-yean 
It Was bis earnest wish^ however, to have made it an active 
and efficient office, and it was his determination to give an 
annual course of lectures, in the college, if rooms had b^eD 
assigned him for the purpose. The importance of suck 
lectures as he could have given ha^ been often revolved in 
the minds of some of his friends, while others have doubted 
whether bis studies, which had been throughout life desul- 
tory, could have been concentrated to one point, and that 
point requiring unremitting assiduity, and a periodical 
regularity. No opportunity, liowever, was afforded for 
the trial. 

' From this time, instead of lectures, it is said be turned 
bis thoughts to publication ; but before this, he had been 
a contributor to some of the literary journals, of articles 
which displayed his critical acumen. In the 3d vol. of 
Maty^s Review, he published a criticism on Schutz's M&- 
cbylus, dated from Trinity college. May 29, 1783. . His 
other criticisms in that Review are, Brunck' s Arbtophanes^ 
vol. IV. ; Hermesianax, by Weston, vol. V. ; Hunting- 
ford's .Apology for his Monostrophics, vol. VI. He ^Iso 
furnished Mr. Maty with a. transcript of the letters of 
Bentley and Le Clerc, vol. IX. p. 253. He was an^ occa- 
sional contributor to the Monthly Review, the Gentleman's 
Magazine, and, it is believed, to other publications. Tbe 
account of Robertson's Parian Chronicle, in the Monthly 
Review, was written by him ; and the review of Knight's 
\Essay on the Greek Alphabet, January 1794, has, from 
internal evidence, been giyen to him. Of the ironical de* 
fence of Sir John Hawkins's Life of Jobnson he wa$ 
unquestionably the writer: this was comprised in three 
humourous letters inserted in the Gentleman's Magazine 
for 1787, under the signature of Sundry Whereof, Some 
letters upon the contested verse, 1 John, v. 7, appeared 
subsequently in the same work; which at lengtn caused 
the publication of his letters to Archdeacon Travis, in 
which be is thought by many to have completely invali- 
dated the authority of that much*disputed text*. 

* Tt is unnecessary to notice all recently published,- by the Rer. Tbo^ 

tbe occasioDai compositions which fell mas Kicid, of Trinity college* Cam* 

from Mr. Forson's pen, as the whole, bridge, under the title of " Tracts 

or at least all that are certainly known and Miscellaneous Criticisms," Sto, 

f be biSy bare been callected, and 1815. 



P O R S O N. 301 

Not long after he bad taken bis first degree, it was ill. 
tbe contemplation of the syndics of the university press at, 
Cambridge to publish j£schylus, with Stanley's coaii|nen« 
tariesy in MS. in the public library of that university. Mr. 
Porson offered to undertake the work3 if allowed to conduct 
it according to bis own ideas of the duty of an editor; but 
this offer was rejected, and in a manner so discouraging, 
that we are told it in a great measure; operated, for a short 
period, to extinguish in him that ardent love of fame which. 
is, generally speaking, the concomitant of learning and the 
emanation of genius* We shall find, hereafter how much 
be bad at heart the elucidation of this very difficult author, 
and in the mean time he was not reluctant to employ his 
pen in similar undertakings. In 1785, ^wben Nicholson* 
the bookseller of Cambridge, was preparing a new edition 
of Xenophon's ** Anabasis,'' he prevailed upon Mr. Porson 
to furnish him with some assistance, which be accordingly 
did to the extent of twenty-eight pages of addenda, which, 
although avowedly written in haste, attest the hand of a 
master. In the year 1787, he communicated to tbedele^ 
gate$^ of the Clarendon press some notes upon Toup's 
jEmendations on Suidas, which appeared with that import*- 
ant work in 1790. These notes were probably composed 
by him at the request of bis friend Mr. Tyrwhitt; a gen* 
tteman of whose learning and genius he had the highest 
opinion, and not only used to mention the talents and 
acuteness of Mr. T. with approbation, but with reverence. 
' However mortified Mr. Porson was by the rejection of 
his proposals respecting iEschylus at Cambridge, be did 
Hot wholly forego the idea of publishing that author, and 
twice announced in Maty's Review, (vol. III. p. 168, and 
Tol. IV. p. 233,) an intention to publish a new edition of 
Stanley's ^schylus, in 3 vols, and solicited the aid of 
English or foreign scholars. ' His first regular publica?- 
tidn, however, was a play of Euripides. In 1797, he 
published tbe^ ^^ Hecuba," which he intended as the pre* 
cursor of all the dramas of that author. Accordingly, the 
next year was published the "Orestes ;" the year after the 
5*PhcBniss«E;" and, in 1801, the "Medea" issued from 
the press at Cambridge, to which his name was prefixed. 
In 1802 was published a second edition of the " Hecuba,'* 
with a supplement to the preface, and a very copious addi* 
tion to the notes. 
• ; The last work that Professor Porson published was a third 



202 P O R S O N. 

dditioa of the '* Hecuba.'* He had also, it u said, made a 
considerable progress in the revision of the three other 
plajs #hich be had form^y edited ; but it has been la- 
ineuted, that he spent so much time in revising what.he had 
already given to the world, instead of proceeding to €or<« 
rect Ae text of the remaining plays. 

The other literary labours of Profisssor Person we shall 
briefly notice. When Heyne*s Virgil was republished in 
JLondoo, he was engaged to superintend the press; hot to 
this he did very little. The Grenville Homer had more of 
bis assistance, as be collated the Odyssey with a Harleian 
MS* His last literary labour was bis <* iEschylus." The 
fate of this work was somewhat singular. According to the 
author of the " Pursuits of Literature,'* he had lent his MS 
corrections and conjectures on the text of ^schylus to a 
friend in Scotland, and these falling into the hands, of 
Foulis, the printer, he published a magnificent edition of 
the text without the notes. This appeared in 1795, folio^ 
but the edition was limited to the small number of 52>of 
fhe shiall paper, and eleven of the large. The professor's 
own edition was printed, in 2 vols. 8vo, as early as 1194^ 
but for v^hat reason we know not, was not published until 
ie06, and then without the notes. It still, however, is to 
be considered as a permanent advantage to Greek literature^ 
ui the text is, in almost numberless instances, improved by 
kis sagacity. 

In 1795, Mr. Person married Mrs. Lunan» the sister of 
|Mr. Perry, the proprietoi^ and conductor of the Morning 
Chronicle, which had to boast of many of his fugitive pieces. 
This lady died, in consequence of a decline, in April 1797* 
He had long before enjoyed the friendship of her brother^ 
who for many years contributed more to the comfort of Mr. 
Person's life than any one man we are able to mention. 
Person had a proud and independent spirit ; it was difficulty 
therefore, to confer an obligation on him, although hit 
situation rendered many such necessary ; but Mr. Perry^ 
by a thousand acts of kindness, had completely engaged lus 
con6dence, and had the art of conferring his favours in a 
inanner which removed the. painful sense of obligalion. 
Person knew that Mr. Perry was perfectly disinterested, and 
accepted from him what he would have rejected with in* 
dignation if offered by one who assumed the airs of the pa^ 
tron J and Mr. Perry, by carefully studying his temper^ 
was enabled to anticipate his wishes, and on varioua occar 



p o R s ON* aos 

sions coutrived to exercise a salutary controul over hit 
^iliogs, which his delicacy and judgment nendeved im^ 
perceptible. - 

Mr. Person was in his latter days often af&icted with m 
spasmodic asthma^ which interrupted bis studies, and con* 
^quently, in a great degree, repressed his literary ardour* 
Whether this disease was a revival of a complaint which 
had afflicted his early youth, or was engendered by the' 
severe and laborious study which had marked his middle 
age, is uncertain. It was probably increased by the latter^ 
aod certainty so by his irregularities, and neglect of the 
i^ommon means of health. There were times, however^ 
when few men could display such patient and continued 
toil. An instance of this is mentioned which strongly 
marks his character. He had ' undertaken to make out 
and copy the almost obliterated manuscript of the inva* 
kiable Lexicon of Photius, which he had borrowed from 
the library of Trinity college. And this he had with un- 
paralleled difficulty jusrt completed, when the beautiful copy, 
which had cost him ten months of incessant toil, was burned 
along with the house of Mr. Perry, at Merton. The origi- 
nal, being an unique entrusted to him by the college, he 
carried with him wheresoever he went, and he was fortu- 
iiately absent from Merton on the morning of the fire. Un- 
ruffled by the loss, he sat down without a murmur, and 
made a second copy as beautiful as the first, which is xuy0 
lA Trinity-college library. 

- When the London Institution was established, professor 
Person was selected to fill the situation of principal libra* 
mn. This office, which was rewarded with a salary of 
200/. a year, and a suite of rooms, provided very amply 
for a man in whose eyes money had little value, unless 
as it enabled him to pursue his studies; but it was rather 
convenient in that view, than gratifying with respect to its 
duties. The number of those who in his time availed 
themselves of the fine library of the Institution wa» toe 
small to require the assistance of such a manasPor&on; 
yet in the few instances which occurred of young men at« 
liending there for the serious purposes of study, he de« 
lighted to be their instructor; and, as one of his biogra* 
phers has observed, '< his mode of communication, liberal 
in the extreme, was truly amiable, as he told you all you 
#fimted to know in a plain and direct manner, « without 
any attempt \o dispkjt his own superiority, bat merely. S0 



204 P O R S O N. 

inform you/' We have often been surprized that the 
business of tuition was never recommended to him ; bur 
perhaps in this, as in other instances, the irregularity of 
his habits would have been a great obstruction. 

In the year 180S, his asthmatic complaint became so 
frequent as to interrupt his usual pursuits, and so painful 
that during the agony he never went to bed, and was forced 
to abstain from all sustenance. This greatly debilitated 
fcis body ; and about a month before his death he was also 
afflicted with an intermittent fever. He had an unfortu- 
nate objection to medical advice, and therefore resorted to 
bis usual remedy of abstinence : but on Monday, the 19tb 
of September, 1808, he suffered an apoplectic stroke, from 
which he recovered only to endure another the next day. 
He languished in consequence until the Sunday night, and 
then expired without a struggle, at his rooms in the Lon« 
don Institution. His remains were removed for interment 
in the ante-chapel of Trinity-college, Cambridge, and were 
deposited in a grave close to the statue of sir Isaac New- 
ton, and near the ashes of Bentley. The funeral was at- 
tended by the society of the college, and the service read 
by the master, the bishop of Bristol. The college after- 
wards purchased such of his books as contained his MS 
notes,, which were very numerous, and from which two 
publications have since been made, one of his '^Adversa- 
ria,'' and the other already mentioned, by Mr. Kidd. 

*' The principal qualities," says one of his biographers^ 
*^ in this great man's mind, were his extraordinary acute- 
ness of discernment, and solidity of judgment; and these, 
added to his intense application and stupendous memory', 
made him what the world, perhaps, never saw before, a 
complete critic, in the most honourable and extended sense 
of that appellation. His reading was immense : he was an 
excellent French scholar ; but in his native language, in 
the Latin, and in the Greek, he was most familiarly and 
profoundly versed. He had, indeed, applied the know- 
ledge which he had gained of the origin and structure of 
language in general, to all these dialects, if we may so 
express ourselves, of the universal language ; and had not 
bis enainence in classical. literature, by its uncommon lustre, 
obscured other attainments, he would doubtless have beeu 
considered as one of the first English scholars. In Greek, 
however, we have no hesitation in pronouncing him the 
very first, not merely of his own age, but of every other* 



P O R S O N. 20Jf 

In him were conspicuous boundless extent of reading, a 
most exact and welUordered memory ; unwearied patience 
in unravelling the sense of an author, and exploring the 
perplexities of a manuscript; perspicacity in discovering 
the corruptions of a text, and acuteness almost intuitive, 
in restoring the true reading. All this was tempered with 
a judgment' which preserved him invariably from the rocka 
against which even the greatest of his critical predecessors 
have at some time or other split ; we mean precipitation in 
determining that to be unsound, which after all had no de« 
feet ; and rashness in applying remedies which only served 
to increase the disease.^' On the failings of this eminent 
man we have but gently touched : there is reason to think 
they have been exaggerated by vulgar report. Whatever 
they were, it is to his credit, that they who knew him most 
intimately, were most disposed to forget them in the splen* 
dour of his uncommon talents. 

Mr. Porson left a sister, a .most amiable and accom« 
plished woman, the wife of Siday Hawes, esq. of Coltis- 
ball, Norfolk. Henry, his second brother, was settled in 
a farm in Essex, and died young, leaving three children: 
His brother Thomas, the companion of his juvenile i^tudies, 
was an excellent scholar ; he kept a boarding-school at 
FiEikenham, and died in 1792 without issu^. — His father, 
Mr. Huggin Poi'son, died in 1S05, in his seventy-fourth 
year. His mother died in 1784, aged fifty-seven.* 

PORTA (Baccio Della), an eminent Florentine artist, 
whose surname is not known, was called Baccio della Porta, 
from a study which he kept when a youth, near a gate of 
the city; and this name was afterwards changed to the 
more celebrated one of Fril Bartolommeo di S. Marco, 
when he entered the order of that Dominican convent. 
Sometimes he is only called " il Frate.'* He was born in 
r469, and studied .under Cosimo Roselli ; but soon grew 
enamoured of the grand chiaro-scuro of Lionardo da Vinci, 
and strove to emulate it. His progress was rapid, and he 
became the instructor of Raphael in colour, who gave him 
lessons in perspective, and taught him to unite graceful^ 
ness with grandeur of form. The composition of his sa- 
cred subjects, and he painted little else, is that which ad* 
hered to Raphael himself, and was not dismissed by the 

^ Morning Chronicle for OcL 6, 1S03. — Atbenxum, vol. IV. p. 496. 5SK 
vol. V. p.35.— Savage's Librarian, vol. I. p. 274.— Gent. Mag. vol. I4X}(V1II» 
Dibdia's CUssics. 



«06 PORTA. 

Floretfttne School before tbe epoch of Poiitormo ; but be 
disguised its fonnality by tbe introduction of architecture 
and majestic steciery. To repel tbe invidious charge of 
incapacity for large proportions, he produced the sublime 
iigufe of St. Marc, which alone fills an aniple pannel, and 
is, or was lately, among tbe spoils of the Louvre. His St. 
Sebastian^ for skill in the nsiked, and energy of colour, ob« 
lained every suffrage of artists and of critics, but being 
comidered as indecent, the monks thought proper to sell 
aud send it to France. In drapery he may be considered 
as an inventor ; no artist of his school formed it with equal 
breadth or dignity, or so natural and expressive of the 
limits ; and if he were the instructor, he was certainly not 
the slave, of the layman. One work of his, of prodigious 
grandeur and beauty, is unnoticed by Mr. Fuseli^ whose 
account we have nearly followed hitherto, viz. the Ak^ 
sumption of the Virgin, at Lucca. Its situation being re- 
tired, this picture is little known to travellers, though it is 
one of tbe most sublime productions of the pencil. Mn 
West, the president of tbe Royal Acaden>y, has in his pos- 
session a considerable part of the Studies mentioned by 
Vasari as having been left to his scholar, <a nun of St. Ca- 
tharine at Florence ; and among them several drawings for 
this picture and its various parts. They are accompanied 
by about two hundred drawings of figures, draperies, and 
limbs, studied from nature with great, care and taste ; and 
exhibit tbe industry and uncommon zeal with which he 
laid tbe basis of his justly •acquired fame. He died in 
1517." 

PORTA (John Baphsta), a Neapolitan gentleman, whp 
made himself famous by his application to letters and to 
science, particularly mathematics, medicine, and natural 
history, was born in 1445, and becoming eminent for his 
knowledge, held a kind of literary assembly at his house, 
in which, according to the notions of those times, they 
treated occasionally on tbe secrets of magic The court 
of Rome on this account forbad these meetings ; but his 
Ifpuse was always tbe resort of literary men, foreign as 
wellas Neapolitan. He not only established private schools 
for {iarttcttlar sciences, but to the utmost of his power 
promoted ptrblic academies. He bad no small share in 
establishing the academy at Gli Ozioni, at Naples; and that 

^ Pilk'mston by Fuseli. — Rees's Cyclopsedia. 



PORTA. 9Qt 

in bis own house, called de Secrett, was accessible ootjr 
to 9uch as bad made some new discoveries in nature. H^ 
composed dramas, both tragic and comic, which bad som^ 
success.at the time, but are not now extant He Aed ii| 
1515. The chief of his works now extant are, K ''P# 
Magia natural!,'* Amsterdam, 1664, 12mo ; a work in wbicll 
he teaches how to produce wonderful effects bj naton4 . 
causes; but in which are some extravagances. 2. ^^ De 
Physiognomia,*' printed at Leyden in quarto, 1645. He 
judges of the physiognomy of men chieHy by comparing 
them to different animals ; find with his other fancies mixes 
those of judicial astrology. S. <* De occultis literarum no*? 
tis ;'' in which be treats of the modes of writing in cypher i 
which he does with great copiousness and diligence. 4^ 
^^ Phy tognomica,*' a pretended method of knowing* the iu^ 
ward .virtues of things by inspection, Naples, 1583, folio. 
5. "De Distillationibus/' Rome, quarto. To him isattribute4 
the invention of the Camera Obscura, which was perfected 
by s'Gravesande. He is said to have formed the plan of 
an Encyclopedia. ^ 

PORTES (Philip des). See DES PORTKS. 

PORTEUS (Beilby), a late eminent English prelate 
was born at York May 8, 1731. He was the youngest but 
one of piueteen children. His father and mother were na- 
tives of Virginia, but retired to this country, much to the 
injury of their private fortune, solely for the honourable pur* 
pose of giving every possible advantage of education to 
their children. Dr. Porteus received the first rudiments of 
his education at York and at Ripon, whence at a very 
early age be became a member pf Christ's college, Cam- 
bridge, where he was admitted a sizar. Humble as lhi$ 
station was, his private merits and studious accomptt$hr 
ments advanced hiiid, as might naturally be expected, to |i 
fellowship of his college, and the active exertions of his 
friends soon afterwards procured him the situation of squire 
beadle, an office of the university, both advantageoos and 
honourable, but not precisely adapted to the character of 
his mind, or habits of his life. He did not therefore lw|^ 
retain it, but wholly occupied himself with th^ oure of 
private pupils, among whom was the late Iprd Gmit^n% 
who distinguished himself oo( only as seoveiar]^ pf MM^ 

V ButUrt*s AcadejDW des Sciences.— 4ftctla't.Bi^. PhUa^«^Tic^QjWii> f 
%uui Ononast, 



i09 P O R T E U S. 

bttt a^ ambassador of Spain. Whilst employed in tbid me* 
ritorious office, he had some difficulty in obtaining a cu- 
racy, and bas been heard to say, with good humour, that 
at this time, so h'mited was his ambition, be thought 
it ah extraordinary piece of good fortune, to receive an 
invitation to go over every Sunday to the house of sir John 
Maynard, at Easton, a distance of sixteen miles from 
Cambridge, to read prayers to the family. In 1757 he 
was ordaitied deacon, and soon afterwards prii&st. His first 
claim to notice as an author was his becoming a successful 
candidate for Seaton's prize for the best English poem on 
a sacred subject. His subject was '* Death,** on which be 
produced an admirable poem, characterized by extraor- 
dinary vigour, warm sensibility, genuine piety, and ac- 
curate taste. 

• So much talent was not doomed long to remain unno- 
ticed. In 1762 he became chaplain to archbishop Seeker^ 
and in 1765 married miss Hodgson, the eldest daughter of 
Brian Hodgson, esq. of Ashbourne in Derbyshire. Hb 
first church preferments were two small livings in Kent, 
which he soon exchanged for Hunton, in the same county, 
and a priebend in the cathedral church of Peterborough, 
ah option of the archbishop ; and not long afterwards he 
was promoted to the rectory of Lambeth« In the same year, 
4767, he \:bok his doctor's degree at Cambridge, and on 
this occasion preached the commencement sermon. From 
this i^eriod he became more and more an object of public 
esteem and attention. He divided his time between Hun- 
ton,' which place he always visited with delight and left 
virith regret, and Lambeth ; and in 1 769 be was made chap- 
lain to his majesty, and master of the hospital of St. Cross, 
near Winchester. 

' In 1773 a circumstance occurred, which then excited 
considerable interest, and in which the part that Dr. Por- 
teus took has been much misinterpreted and misunderstood. 
The following statement in his own words, will place the 
f^ictin its true point of view. ** At the close of the year 
1772, and the beginning of the next, an attempt was made 
by 'mjr'telf and a' few other clergymen, among whom were 
JMr.«FVancis 'Wdllaston, Dr. Percy, now bishop of Dra- 
Aore, and Dr. Yorke, now bishop of Ely, to induce the 
bishops' to promote a review of the liturgy and articles, in 
'vritr to amend in both, but particularly in the lattec^ 
those parts which all reasonable persons agreed ttood ioi 



P O R T E U S. 209 

tieed of amendment This plan was not in the smaliett 
degree connected with the petitioners at the Feathers ta^ 
Tern, but, on the contrary, was meant to counteract that 
and all similar extravagant projects; to strengthen and 
confirm oUr ecclesiastical establishment ; to repel the at« 
tacks which were at that time continually made upon it by 
its avowed enemies ; to render the 17^ article on predes- 
tination and election more clear and perspicuous, and less 
liable to be wrested by our adversaries to a Calvinistic 
sense, which has been so unjustly affixed to it; to improve 
true Christian piety amongst those of our own communion^ 
and to diminish schism and separation by bringing over to 
the national church all the moderate and well-disposed of 
other persuasions. On these grounds, we applied in a 
private and respectful manner to archbishop Comwallis^ 
requesting him to 'signify our wishes (which we conceived, 
to be the wishes of a very large proportion both of the 
clergy and the laity) to the rest of the bishops, that every 
thing might be done, which could be prudently and safely 
done, to promote these important and salutary purposes. 

^^ The answer given by the archbishop, February 11 ^ 
1773, was in these words : ^ I have consulted severally my 
brethren the bishops, and it is the opinion of the bench in 
general, that nothing can in prudence be done in tjie 
inatter that has beeu submitted to our consideration.' '' 

There can be no question that this decision, viewed in all 
its bearings, was right ; and Dr. Porteus, and those wijth 
whom be acted, entirely acquiesced in it. They had done 
their duty in submitting to the bench such alterations as ap- 
peared to them to be conducive to the credit and the in- 
terest of the church of England, and of religion in general; 
and their manner^of doing it was most temperate and respect- 
ful. At the same time, it appeared to the majority then^ 
as it does still, that the proposal was rejected on very satis- 
factory and sufficient grounds. 

In 1776, Dr. Porteus was promoted to the bishopric of 
Chester, where he distinguished himself by a faithful dis*- 
charge of the duties of his high station ; and in the interval 
between this period and his promotion to the see of Lon- 
don, the bishop evinced his zeal and ardour for the proi* 
fliotion ' of piety, benevolence, and the public good^ by 
the part which he took in various matters which were ob^- 
gects of popular disctission. The principal among these 
were the .Protestant association against Popery.; that abo^ 

Vol. XXV. P 



tl§ > O R T B u a 

niinable nuisaiice, the Sunday debating sooietj ; the civW 
lisation of the negroesy and the cstablisbment of S^ndey 
aebooh. In the first of these, at: the tsune time that the 
bishop demonstrated. bis untreiwl ebarity and candour, hm 
was not negligent in. guarding thoae eommitted to hia oare 
agamst the dangerous and delusive teoeta of pt^ery* la 
the second,^ his exertions effectually put a atop lo a very 
alarming evil, to meetings whscb were calculated to de«- 
•troy every. morii sentiment, and extinguish every reli« 
gious principle. With respect to the eivilisttion and coor 
version of the negroes, he indulged, the feeling nearest to 
bis heart; but, although he had the bappiuesa to see the 
final accomplishment of his wiabes, his first endeavoura 
were not effectual. The plan of Sunday schools was first 
introduced by Mr. Richard Baikes, of Gloueesters and 
when the bishop wasi convinced by time and experience of 
their real utility and importance, be promoted them in his 
diocese, and by an admirable letter which he addressed to 
bis clergy, he explained tbetr advantages, and recom^ 
mended their universal adoption J 

, In 1787, on the deadi orbiahop Lowtb, Mr. Pitt re* 
eommended Dr. Porteua to bis majesty aa a fit person to 
aucceed to the diocese of London^ and hia jotajesty having 
giyen his entire approbation, he was accordingly; iuatalled^ 
The first object which engaged his attention on bis promor 
tion to this imjiortant see, was the king's proolamation 
against immorality and profanenesst; and the good eiFeets 
of his exertions on this subject were immediate and import 
iant; but his pastoral zeal was displayed to most advantage 
a few years after, when all moral and religtous priueiple 
became, endangered by the pernicious influence of the 
, French revolution. The object of the authors of that cocit 
vulsion was to degrade and vilify the truths of revelation^ 
and to propagate in its place a blaapbemous and infidel 
philosophy. The attempt succeeded but too. effectually 
in their own country, and the contagion ao6n spread to 
this. No efforts were spared, which could tend to con- 
taminate the public mind, and obliterate from it all reve*^ 
rence for our civil and religious establishnoents ; and had it 
not been for the vigorous measures of that great miniater^ 
who was then at the head of the administration, and to 
whom, under providence, we owe our preservation, we 
laigbt have witnessed here the same frightful scenes^ wbicit 
convulsed aod desolated a uei^bofyriog kiogdom. . 



P O H T E U & Sll 

At a crisis such as tkis^ in which iJI that is dear to ns 
bong suspended on the issue^ it was plainly every man^s 
boundeu duty to exeit himself to the utmost for the ptrblia 
weifere : aod, in a situation so responsible as the see of 
LondoOt comprehending a vast metropolis^ where the 
emissaries of infidelity were most actively occupied in their 
ivork of mischief, the hishop felt himself called upon to 
counteract, as far as in him lay, the licentious principles 
which vrere then afioat, and to check, if possible, the 
progress they had too evidently made in the various ranks 
of society. The best mode, as he conceived, of doing 
this, was to rouse the attention of the clergy to what was 
passing around them ; and nothing surely was ever better 
ealeulated to produce that effect, than the charge which 
be addressed to them in 1794. We know not where, in a 
short compass, the character of the French philosophy is 
more ably drawn, or its baneful influence moce strikingly 
developed. He had marked its course with an observing 
eye. ' He had read ail that its advocates could allege in its 
favour. He bad traced the motives which gave it birth, 
thfe features by which it was marked, and the reed objects 
which it was designed to accomplish. It was not therefore 
without much deliberatioo and a full knowledge of his sub* 
ject, that he drew up for his second visitation that eloquent 
and most impressive address, in which be gave such a pic- 
ture of the infidel school of that day, and of the industry 
which was then employed to disseminate its principles in 
ibis country, as at once carried conviction to the mind, 
and most powerfully awakened the attention of every seri'- 
ous and thinking man. But it was on the clergy, in an 
especial manner, that he was anxious to leave a strong and 
fixed persuasion of the necessity of increased assiduity and 
vigilance in the discbarge of their religious functions. 
Christianity, attacked as it was on every side, required 
more than common efforts, and more than ordinary zeal on 
the part of its natural defenders ; and he therefore called 
upon them to repel with vigour and*effect all those charges 
of fraud, falsehood, and fanaticism, which bad been so 
liberally thrown upon it; at such a perilous crisis to con- 
tend whh peculiar earnestness for ** the faith once delivered 
to the saints;" and to shew that it is not, as our enemies 
affirm, ^ a cunniDgly devised fable,*' but *^ a real re vela* 
iion from heaven.*' 

. lo particiiliir he recommended it to them^ >vith the rM&w 

P 3 



21$ P O R T E U S. 

of fltemming more effectually the oTerwlielming torrent of 
infidel opinions^ *^ to draw out from the whole body of the 
Christian evidences the principal and most striking argu- 
ments^ and to bring them down to the understandings of the 
common people." ** If ihis," says he, ** or any thing oi 
a similar nature, were thrown into a regular course of ser- 
mons or lectures, and delivered in an easy, intelligible, fa- 
miliar language to your respective congregations, I know 
nothing that would, in these philosophic times, render a 
more essential service to religion.'' And to demonstrate 
that he was willing himself to take bis full share of the 
burthen which he imposed upon others, he, in 1794, un- 
dertook to prepare and deliver at St. James's church, his 
justly-celebrated Lent lectures, which were received by the 
public with enthusiastic gratitude, both from the pulpit, 
in which they were repeated for some succeeding years, 
and from the press, where they passed through several 
editions. i ' 

This excellent prelate continued to ; exert all the in- 
fluence of his high office, and to display all the energies 
of his character in whatever comprehended the extensiock 
and benefit of religion, morality, and literature. His ad^ 
dress, in particular, to those who came to him for confir- 
mation when he visited his diocese for the fourth time ia 
1 802, is an admirable piece of eloquence. His charge on 
his last visitation, is more particularly deserving of atten- 
tion, as it answered the objections of those who repre- 
sented bis lordship as friendly to sectaries. The part he 
took on the subject of the Curates' Bill, and residence of 
the clergy, evinces his tenacious zeal in whatever seemed 
in his opinion to be connected with his duty. 

In 1805, he opposed the application for what was galled 
Catholic Emancipation, as not being an application for 
liberty of conscience, but for political power. Among the 
last acts of his life were, his support of the English and Fo- 
reign Bible Society ; his triumph on the successful termi- 
nation of the question on the Slave trade ; and his liberality 
in building and endowing a chapel at Sundridge, whick 
was his favourite place of summer residence. 

Tois worthy prelate had for some years been subject to 
ill health, which at length brought on a general debility, 
and on the i 4th of May, 1808, he sunk under the pres- 
sure of accumulated disease, being in the 78th year of his 
age« He left bet»nd him a justly ^acquired reputatiQn -for 



PORTE us. 8JS 

propriety of tondace, ben)3voler>ce to the clergy, and a 
strict attention to episcopal duties. As a preacher, he 
pbtained the character of an accomplished orator ; bis lan- 
guage was chaste, his manner always serious, animated^ 
and impressive, and his eloquence captivating. He seem^ed 
to ^peak from conviction, and being fully persuaded him- 
self of the truth of those doctrines which he inculcated, he 
the more readily persuaded others. In private life be was 
mild, affable, easy of access, irreproachable in his morals, 
of a cheerful disposition, and ever ready to listen to and 
relieve the distresses of his fellow-creatures. In his be- 
haviour towards dissenters from the established church, he 
discovered great moderation and candour. While he. was 
a sincere believer in the leading doctrines contained in the 
thirty-nine articles, he could make allowance for those who 
did not exactly come up to the same standard. . Toward 
the latter part of his life, he was accused of becoming the 
persecutor of the rev. Francis Stone, a clergyman of. his 
own diocese, against whom he formally pronounced a sen- 
tence of deprivation for preaching and publishing a sermon 
in direct hostility to the doctrines of the church to which 
he belonged. Mr. Stone had for many years avowed hia 
disbelief of the articles of faith which he had engaged to 
defend, and for the support of which he had long received 
a handsome income, but no notice whatever was t^ken of 
the unsoundness of his creed. He preached the offensive 
sermon before many of his brethren of different ranks in 
the church; yet perhaps even this attack, which. could 
scarcely be deemed prudent or even decent, would have 
been unnoticed, had he contented himself with promul- 
gating his opinions from the pulpit only ; but, when he 
made the press the vehicle of disseminating- opinions, con- 
trary to the articles of his church, the prelate tool^ the 
part which was highly becoming the high office which ho 
held- 

The benefactions of the bishop of London were i^ume« 
reus, public as well as private. While he was living, he 
transferred nearly seven thousand pounds in three p<T.r^;»^ 
to the archdeacons of the diocese of London, ^ a perinar 
pent fund for the relief of the poorer clergy of bis dioce&e* 
He also transferred stock to Christ's college, Cambridge, 
directing the interest arising from it to be appropriated to 
the purchase of three gold medals, to- be annually con- 
tended iat by the students of that college ': one medal, 



f 11 p o R r E u s. 

Taltie fifteen guineas, for the best Latin dissertation oH 
any of the chief evidences of Cbrifttianity; another of the 
same value for the best English composition on some mot al 
precept in the gospel ; and one of ten guineas, to th^ b^<st 
tezder in and most constant attendant at chapel He be«* 
queathed his library for the use of his successors in the see 
of London, together with a liberal sum towards the expence 
of erecting a building for its reception at ^ the episcopal 
palace at Fulfaam. At Hyde-hiil, near Sundridge, in 
Kent, where the bishop had a favourite rural retreat, he 
built a chapel, under which be directed his remains to be 
deposited, and he endowed it with an income of 250/. a^ 
year. 

As his works are now printed in a eollected form, it is 
unnecessary to give their titles or dates. The edition was 
pfebeded by an excellent life of him, written by his ne- 
phew, the rev.' Robert Hodgson, rector of St. George's 
Hanover-square. To this we refer for many particulars of 
Dr. Porteus, which could not be included in the present 
sketch.' 

PORTUS (Francis), a learned writer of the sixteenth 
eeotUry, was a native of Candid, where he was born in 
1511, but was brought up at the court of Ren^e of France, 
daughter of Louis XII. and consort of Hercules II. duke of 
Ferrara, and afterwards taught Greek in thcLt city. There 
also an acquaintance with Calvin induced him to embrace 
the reformed religion, for the quiet enjoyment of which 
he went to Geneva in 1561, and was appointed Greek pro^ 
fessor, an office which he i^ppears to have held until his 
deatbin 1581. He published commentaries and annota-* 
tion^ upon Pindar, Sophocles, some of the works of Xeno* 
phon, Thucydides, Aristotle's Rhetoric, Longinus, and some 
other writers, a Latin version of the Psalms, and the 
Hymns of Synesius, an improved edition of Constantine's 
Greek Lexicon, a reply to Peter Charpentier's defence of 
the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and other pieces. * 

PORTUS (iEMinus), son of the preceding, was bom in 
i5>5], and like his father became an accomplished Greek 
scholar and critic. He taught Greek at Lausanne, and, 
as some say, in the university of Heidelberg. He died in 
1610. Among his useful labours we may enumerate, I. 

. , 1 I,ire tn ft^ove.r*8rt^.Crit, ft>r lSU.-^F9rbe&*ft Uie of BeaUk i •tj^Ioilex^ 
'^ Morerit--^a)ui Oaoiaagt. 



P O R T U S. "QU 

Aii ecikion of <' EiirifiideB)'^ printcil at 0«Mm In 160t, 

4tx>^ with kifl own. notes and chote of Ciroter, Brodteus, ^ 

. and Stibiliott^ This in a rare edition^ 2. ** Artstbphanos,*^ 

Geneva, I60t, fol. Gr. & Lat 3. ^< Prodi Diadochi com- 

4nemaria in Platooia ibeolo^am/' Gr. fc Lat. Hamburgh, 

16 IS, fol. 4. << OMsandri Strategtous/' Geneva, I GOO, 

4(o. 6. '^ SuldflB Lexicon^ Gr. & LsLtJ^ Colon. AUobr. 

1619, (or as some copieiB have, Geneva, 1630,) 2 vol«. fol. 

but this 16 die same eduion. 6. << Amtotelis Ars Rbeto- 

•rica," Gr. & Let the translation by jEmilias Portus, and 

itlie coniQientary by his father, Spire, ld96, 8vo. 7. *^Ptn^ 

-dar," 1 598. Besides these he contributed notes lo Leun^ 

clavius's edition of ** Xenopbon,^* translated into Latin 

Dioaysius of Halicaroa^ius, and published a ^^ Diotioniiw 

rium Ooricum GrsBCO'Latinum,*' 1603, 8vo, a *^ Diet, lo- 

aiioum,^' Gr. &Xat ^vo, lately reprinted at Oxford, and 

« ^ Lexicon Pindaricani/' &c. &c. ^ 

PORY (John), a learned traveHer and geographer, was 
born probably about li70, and entered of Gonvil and Caius 
college, Cambridge^ in 1.587, where betook the degrees 
in arts« The time of his . le^iving the oniversity does not 
appear; but in 1600, we find him oiensioned by Hacklay^ 
with great respect, in the dedioation to secretary Cecil, 
-of. the third volume of his voyages. He appears to have 
'been in some Measure a pupil of Haokioyt's, or at least 
-caught from him a love for oostnograpby itnd foreign bis*. 
tory, and published iu the same year, 1600, what he calls 
ihe i^ blossoms of bis labours," namely, ^^ A Geograpbieal 
History of Arrica^'* translated fixna Leo Africanus, Lond. 
4to. The reputation of bis learning, and his skill in the 
modern languages, not very nsaal among ^le soholars of 
that age, soon brought bim acquainted with bis learned 
contemporaries, and in a visit to Oxford in 1610, he was 
inoerporated M* A. About the same time Jie appears to 
have been a member of parliament. In Feb« 1612, he was 
at Paris, where he.delivered to Thuanus, teti books of the 
MS commentaries of the reign of queen £ii£abetb, sent 
over by sir Robert Cotton for the use of that historian. 
From bis correspondence it appears that be was at various 
parts of the Continent before 16 19, when he was appointed 
secretary to the colony of Virginia, in which^office he re^^ 
mained until Nov. 1621, when be returned to England. 

1 Moreri. — Saxii Oaomast. 



216 . P O R Y. i 

,'fieing however appointed, Oct. 24, 1623/.by the' {>rivy-t 
council o£ England, one of the cominiasionecs to inquife 
into the state of Virginia, he went thither « again in that 
character, but came back to bi« own country in the year f(d« 
.lowing. From that time he appears from his letters, to have 
resided chiefly at London, foe the rest of his life, the pe* 
.riod of which cannot be exactly ascertained, but must be 
Antecedent to the month of Oct. 1635, as he is mentioned 
.as deceased in a letter of Mr..George Gerrards, of the third 
.of that month. His letters, in the British Museum, ad* 
.dressed to Mr. Joseph Mead, sir Thomas Puckering, and 
.others, will perhaps be thought inferior to none in the hifr* 
itorical series, for the variety and extent of the informa- 
tion contained' in them, respecting the affairs of Great 
Britain.^ 

PPSSEVIN (Antony), a learned Jesuit, was born at 
Mantua in 1534, of a good but decayed family. He wag 
.educated principally at Rome, and made such progress in 
Jearning, that the cardinal Hercules de Gonzaga made 
him his secretary, and intrusted him with the education of 
.Francis and Scipio de Gonzaga, his nephews. After stu- 
dying divinity at Padua, he was admitted into the society 
pf Jesuits in 1559. As a preacher, he had distinguished 
success, both in Italy and. France; and having a very un« 
common talent both for languages and for negociation, he 
jwas employed by pope Gregory JKHI. in important embas- 
sies to Poland, Sweden, Germany, and other parts of 
Europe. When he returned to Rome, he laboured to 
^effect a reconciliation between Henry IV, of France and 
the court of Rojne. This, however, displeased the Spanish 
court, by whom he was compelled to l^ave that city. He 
died at Ferrara, Feb. 26, 161.1, being then sevejtity-eight 
years old. Possevin, though so deeply skilled in politics 
and knowledge of mankind, was a man of profound erudi- 
tion and exemplary piety. The most important of his 
works are, 1. '^ Bibliotheca selecta, de ratioue stuc|iorum,'' 
published at Rome in 1593, folio, and reprinted at Venice 
in 1607, in 2 vols, folio, with many augmentations. This 
work was intended as a general introduction to knowledge ; 
at once to facilitate the approach to it, and to serve as a 
substitute for many books, the perusal of which the author 

1 Life by Dr. Birch ; lee A^icouj^h'i Catal«gae, and Maty's Review, to). T. 
f. 118. 



I 
.J 



P O S S E V r N. 217 

considered as dangerous for young minds. It treats dis- 
tiDctly of every science, with great extent of learning, but 
sot always witb sufficient correctness. 2. *' Apparatus 
sacer," Cologne, 1607, 2 vols, folio. The intention of 
this book was to give a general knowledge of the comtnen- 
tators on the Scriptures, and other theological writers. 
'Though the catalogues it contains were from the first im« 
perfect and ill-digested, it was much circulated, as the 
best book of the time, and it contains notices of above six 
thousand authors. It is now become almost entirely use- 
less. 3. '^ Moscovia,** 1587, folio; a description of Rus- 
sia the fruit of some of his travels. 4. Some controversial 
and other theological books. 5. Some smaller works, 
. written and published in Italian. Possevin^s Life was pub- 
lished by father Dorigny at Paris, 1712, 12mo.^ 

POSTEL (William), a very ingenious but visionary 
man, was by birth a Norman, of a small hamlet called 
Dolerie; where he was born in 1510. Never did genius 
struggle with more vigour against the extremes of indi- 
gence. At eight years old, he was deprived of both his 
parents by the plague: when only fourteen, unable to 
subsist in his native place, he removed to another near 
Fontoise, and undertook to keep a school. Having thus 
obtained a little money, be went to Paris, to continue his 
studies ; but there was plundered ; and suffered so much 
from cold, that he languished for two years, in an hospital. 
When be recovered, he a^ain collected a little money by^ 
gleaning in the country, and returned to Paris, where be 
subsisted by waiting on some of the students in the college 
of St. Barbe ; but made, at the same time, so rapid a pro- 
gress iu knowledge, that he became almost an universal 
scholar. His acquirements were so extraordinary, that 
they became known to the king, Francis I. who, touched 
with so much merit, under such singular disadvantages, 
sent him to the East l;o collect manuscripts. This commis- 
sion be executed so well, that on his return, he was ap- 
pointed royal professor of mathematics , and languages, 
with a considerable salary. Thus he might appear to be 
settled for life ; but this was not his destiny. He was, un- 
fortunately for himself, attached to the chancellor Poyet, 
who fell under the displeasuae of the queen of Navarre ; 

' Life by Dorigny.— Dttpm.—Niccrpn, vol. XX H. — BIounlN Cen«ura. — Saxii 
Doomatiiooo. 



218 P O S T E L. 

and Postel, for no other fault, was deprived of li» sp- 
..pointmentSy and obliged to quit France. He now became 
» wanderer, and a visionary. From Vienna, from Rook, 
from the order of Jesuits, into wbich he had entered, be 
was^successively banished for strange and singular opinions; 
for which also he was imprisoned at Rome and at Venice. 
Being released, as a madman^ be returned to Paris, whence 
the same causes sixain drove him into Germany. At Vienna 
he was once more received; and obtained a professorship ; 
• but, having made his peace at home, was again recalled 
ta Paris, and re-established in bis places. He bad previ- 
.otisly recanted his errors, but relapsing into diem, was 
.banished to a monastery, where he performed acts of peni- 
tence, and died Sept. 6, 1581, at the age of seventy^one. 
Postel pretended to be much older than he was, and 
maintained that be had died and risen again y which farce 
he supported by mtiny tricks, such as colouring his beard 
aud hair, and even painting bis face. For the sftme reason, 
in most of his works, he styles himself, ** Postellus resti- 
tutus.*' Notwithstanding his strange extravagances, be 
was one of the greatest geniuses of his lime ; had a^sor* 
prising quickness and memory, with so extensive a know- 
ledge of languages, that he boasted he could travel round 
the world without an interpreter. Francis I. regarded bim 
as the wonder of his age ; Charles IX. called him bis phi« 
losopher; and inhen he lectured at Paris, the crowd of 
auditors was sometimes so great, that they could only assem- 
ble in the open court of the college, while he taught diem 
from a window. But by applying himself very earnestly 
to the study of the Rabbins, and of the stars, be turned 
bis bead, and gave way to the most extravagant chimeras. 
Among these, were the notions that women at a certaiii 
period are to have universal dominion over men ; that all 
the mysteries of Christianity are demonstrable by reason ^ 
that the soul of Adam had entered into \i\s body ; that the 
angel Raziel bad revealed to him the secrets of heaven ; 
and that his writings were dictated by Jesus Christ himsejf* 
(lis notion of the universal dominion of women^ arose 
from his attachment to an old maid at Venice, in conse- 
iquence of which he published a strange and now very rare 
and high-priced book, entided ^^ Les tres^marveiUeusei 
victoires des Femmes du Nouveau Monde, et comme elles 
doivent par raison a tout le monde commander, et mSme i 
ceux qui auront la monarchic du Monde viel,'^ Paris, 1553, 



P O S T E L. «lf 

• 

l^iiio. At the nktne time, he maintained, that the extra- 
ordinary age to which be pretended to have liTed, was 
-occasioned by his total abstinence from ell commeroe with 
that sex. His works are as numerous as they are stra;nge; 
and sotne of them are very scarce, bat very little deserve 
to be collected. One of the most important is entitled 
**De orbis concordia,** Bale, 1544, folio. In this the au- 
thor endearours to bring all the world to the ChrisiiaA 
faith Under' two masters, the pope, in spiritual affairs, and 
the king of France in temporal. It is divided into four 
books ; in the first of which he gives the proofs of Christ 
tianity; the second contains a refutation of the Koran; 
the third treats of the origin of idolatry, and alf false reli^ 
gtons ; and the fourth, on the mode of converting Pagans, 
J^ws, and Mahometans. Of bis other works, amounting 
to twenty-six articles, which are enumerated in the ** Dic- 
tionnaire Historique,*' and most of them by Bmnet as ra- 
rities with the French coileccoi*s, many display in their 
Very titles the extravagance of their contents; such as, 
'* Clavis absconditorum h constitutione mundi,'' Paris, 1 547, 
16mo; " De Ultimo judicio;'* " Proto-evangelium,*' &c, 
fiome are on subjects of more real utility. But the fullest 
account of the whole may be found in a book published 
at Liege in 1773, entitled " Nouveaux eclaircissemens sur 
la Vie et les ouvra«jes de Guillaume Postel," by father des 
Billons. The infamous book, *' De tribus impostoribus,** 
has been very unjustly attributed to Postel, for, notwitk* 
standing all his wildness, he was a believer. *^ 

POSTLETHWAYT (Malachi), a writer of reputation 
on subjects of trade and commerce, was slightly mentioned 
in our last edition, but without any particulars of his Hfe ; 
nor have we yet many to communicate. He was born 
about the year 1707 ; but where, of what parents, or hovi^ 
educated,' we have not discovered. In the introductory 
discourse to his work entitled " Great Britain^s true 
Hystem,'' he informs us, that nature having given him si 
very tender and weak constitution, he studiously declined 
and avoided, as much as he could, every degree of public 
life, as being inconsistent with, and indeed destructive of, 
that sn^all share of health which he had several years 
enjoyed, and which his studies had not mended ; ^nd yet 

' Chaofppie.— Nicftron, vol. VITI — Buliarl'd Academie des Sciences.— 
Blount's CcQsura. — SzjW OnomBftUoon. - '• 



«20 POSTLETH W A Y T. 

he preferred the studious life, as being more independent. 
Jle complains, however, of want of encouragement; and 
'^humbly hopes that some people will be candid and in- 
genuous enough to think that he has a right to be treated 
upon a Noting something different from that of an upstart 
idle schemist or projector, who has never given proof of 
Any talents that mighty deserve the public regard and at« 
tention.'* Whether this complaint was redressed, we know 
not. He died Sept. 17, 1767, and probably not in very 
opulent circumstances, as he was buried in Old-street 
jchurch-yard. The coffin, at his own request, was filled 
with unslacked lime. His death was sudden, as be always 
wished it might be. 

His most valuable publications were, the '^ Universal 
Dictionary of Trade and Commerce,'' 2 vols, folio, of 
which a second edition was published in 1757 ; and ** Great 
Britain's true System ;'' one part of which is to recom- 
mend, during war, to raise the supplies within the year. 
His other publications, with the merits of which we are 
less acquainted, were, ^^ 1. '* The Merchant's public 
Counting House," 4to. 2. ** State of the French Trade 
and Navigation," 8vo. 3. *^ Britain's Commercial Interest 
explained and improved," 2 vols. 8vo. 4. *^ The Import- 
ance of the African Expedition considered," &c. In the 
papers of 1763, we find mention of a James Postlethwayt, 
F. R. S. who wrote ^* The History of the public Reyenuej" 
folio, but whether related to Malachi is uncertain. Mala- 
cbi was chosen F. S. A. March 21, 1734. * 

POTENGER, or POTTINGER (John), an English 
gentleman of talents, was the son of John Potenger, D. D. 
who was appointed master of Winchester School Aug. 1, 
1642, which he was obliged to resign, in order to pre- 
serve his loyalty and principles, and died in Dec. 1659. 
He was born in St. Switfain's parish, Winchester, July 21, 
1647, admitted on the foundation of the college in 1658, 
and thence removed to a scholarship of Corpus Christi 
college, Oxon, where he took the degree of B. A. and 
afterwards entered of the Temple, and was regularly called 
to the bar. The office of comptroller of the pipe, which 
he held to the day of his death, he purchased, in 1676, of . 
sir John Ernie, then chancellor of the Exchequer, whose 
daughter he married. Speaking of his father, in one of 

> Gens* Lit. vol. I« — Month, and Crit Reviews. 



P O T E N G E R. 221 

» 

his writings, he expresses himself thus : — " About the thirf 
teenth year of my age, the Christmas before the return of 
king Charles the Second, I lost a loving father ; I was not 
so young but I was deeply sensible of the misfortune, 
knowing at what an unseasonable time I was deprived of 
him, when he should have received a reward for his loyal 
sufferings. He would often discourse with me, though 
young, about the unhappy times, and lament the church's 
and the king's misfortunes, which made a great impression 
on me ; and laid the foundation, I hope, of my being a 
true sou of the church of England, and an obedient subject 
to my lawful prince.*' In 1692 his wife died, leaving him 
only one daughter, who, in 1695, was married to Richard 
Bingham, esq. of Melcombe Bingham, in the county of 
Dorset. Thither he retired many years before his death, 
which happened on Dec. 18, 1733, in the 87th year of his 
age. He was buried by his wife in Blunsden church, in 
the parish of Highworth, Wilts. Mr. Potenger also pub- 
lished " A Pastoral Reflection on Death," a poem, in 1691 ; 
and " The Life of Agricola," from Tacitus, and perhaps 
other select pieces ; but the far greater part of his works, 
consisting of ^^ Poems, Epistles, Translations, and Dis- 
courses," both in prose and verse, was reserved only for 
the entertainment of his private friends, who often impor- 
tuned him to make them public. Two original letters to 
him from Dr. South, are printed in Nichols's Select Col- 
lection of Poems. * 

POTHIER (Robert Joseph) son of a counsellor to the 
presidial of Orleans, was born in that city January 9, 1699^ 
and was appointed counsellor to the same presidial himself 
at the age of twenty-one. A particular taste induced him 
to study the Roman law ; and the public are indebted to 
bis labours on that subject for an edition of Justinian's Pan- 
dects, very exactly arranged, which he published 1-748, 
3 vols, folio. This work made M. Pothier known to the 
chancellor D' A guesseau, who appointed him, unsolicited, 
to the professorship of French law, vacant at Orleans in 
1749 ; after which, he applied particularly to that branch. 
He died, unmarried, at Orleans, May 2, 1772. Though 
constantly employed in the service of his fellow citizens, 
and of all those who consulted him, he found opportunity, 
by bis indefatigable diligence, to publish the followiiig 

t NicboU's PoemF, vol. VIII. -^Lloyd's Memoirt; folio, p. 616. 



£22 P O T H I E a. 

works: \. " Coutume d'Orleans," 1740, 1760, t t6b; 
12mo, and 1773, 4to. 2. ^^ Coutuoies du Ducb^, &Cf 
d'Oxleans," 2 vols. 12ino, and 1760 and 1772, 4ta The 
introductions to this work are reckoned masterly. 3. ^< Tr. 
• ^es Obligations,*' 1764, 2 vols. 12mo, which has {>een foU 
lowed bj, 4. *^ Le Contrat de Vente; de Constitution; d# 
Louage; de Soci^ti6 et ^ Chepiels; de Bieafaisaoce ; de 
D£p6t, et Nantissement':" these form five volumes, which 
^re sold separately. '* Trait^ des Coutrats aleatoires,** 
3 vols. ; "de Mariage,'* 2 vols.; " Trait6 du Douaire,*! 
1 vol. ; " Tr. du Droit d'Habitation ;" " Don mutuel," &a 

1 vol. ; " Trait^ du Domaine, de Propriit^ de Possession,^' 

2 vols. All these works were reprinted, 1774, 4 vols* 
4to. A Treatise on Fiefs has since appeared, Orleans, 1 776, 
2 vols. foHo. He left many other manuscript works^ which 
have not been printed ^ 

POTT (PEaciVAL), an English sargeon of the highest 
eminence, was born in Threadneedle-street^i Londbn, in 
December 1713. His father dying before he was quit^ 
four years old, he was left, in some degree, to the protec* 
tion and patronage of Wilcox, bishop of Rochester^ who 
was a distant relation of his mother. The profession of 
surgery was bis own decided choice, though the coniiectiofi 
above mentioned might naturally have led him to the 
church; and, in 1729, he was bound apprentice to Mr. 
Nourse, one of the surgeons of St. Bartholomew's hospital, 
under whpm he was profoundly instructed* in what, at tb^t 
time, was taught only by a few, the science of anatomy. 
His situation brought with it an abundance of practical 
knowledge, to which bis own industry led him to add all 
that can be gained from a sagacious and careful perusfkl of 
the early writers on surgery. Thus qualified, he was admi*^ 
rably calculated to reform the superfluous and awkward 
modes of practice which had hitherto disgraced the art. 
In 1736, having finished his apprenticeship, he took a 
house in Fenchurch-street, and quickly was distinguished 
AS a yonng man of tbe most brilliant and promising talents^ 
In 1745, he was elected an assistant surgeon ; and, in 
,1749, one of the principal surgeons of St. Bartholomew^! 
hospital. It was one of the honours of Mr. Pott's life, that 
he divested surgery of its principal horrors, by substituting 
a mild and rational mode of practice (notwithstanding the 

1 Diet. Uist-^Necrolosie des Hoaiimss .celebres^ pour ans^e VVIZ* 



POTT. ^33 

iqiipoeition of Ibe old^r surgeons), instead of the actual 
j09kut^ry^ wd otb^r barbarous expedients which had hitherto 
beea employed ; and he Uved to enjoy the satisfaction of 
feeing bis improved plan universally adopted. Though he 
possessed the most diatinguisbed talents for communicating 
bis thoughts in writing, it seems to have been by accident 
that be ways led to become an author. Immersed in prac* 
tice^ lit doea not appear that hitherto he had written any 
Ibiogy except a paper ** on tumours attended with a soften- 
ing of the bonea,'' in the forty-first volume of the Philo- 
sopbical Transactions ; but, in 1756, a compound fracture 
of the leg, occasioned by a fall of his horse in the streets, 
gave him leisure to plan, and in part to write, bis Treatise 
on Ruptures. The flattering reception of his publications 
attached him afterwards to this mode of employing his ta- 
lents, so that be was seldom long without being engaged 
in a^me work. His leg was with difficulty preserved, and 
be returned to the labours of his profession. In 1764, he 
had the hqnour of being elected a fellow of the Royal 
^Society ; and in the ensuing year he began to give lectures 
at his bouse, which was then in Watting- street ; but find- 
ing it necessary, from the increase of his business, to 
eboose a paore central situation, he removed, in 1769, ta 
Lincoln Vtnn-fields, and in 1777 to Hanover-square. Hia 
reputation had now.nsen nearly to the greatest height, by 
means of bis various publications, and the great success of 
his practice. lie was universally consulted, and employed 
by persons of the first rank and situation ; and received 
honorary tributes to his merit from the royal college of 
surgeons at Edinburgh and in Ireland. In 17^7, he re- 
signed the office of surgeon to St. Bartholomew's hospital, 
'^ after having served it,'* as he expressed himself, *^ man 
and boy, for half a century ;" and in December. 1788, in 
ccKisequence of a cold caught by going out of town to a 
patient; in very severe weather, be died» at the age of 
«eventy*>five, He was buried near his mother, in the church 
of St* Blary Aldermary, Bow*lane„wbere a tablet was affixed 
to bia memory, insc^ribed by his son, the rev. J. H* Pott, the 
present Archdeacon of London, and vicar of St. Martin' s- 
«n*the-fields. 

The genius of Mr. Pott was certainly of the first order. 
As an author, .hi« language is correct, strong, and ani- 
mated. There ace few instances, if any, of such classical 
lakigattce united with .so much practical knowledge and 



224 POTT. 

acoieness. His reading was by no means confined to pro^ 
fessional works, but was various and extensive; and bis 
memory suffered nothing to escape. As a teacher he ac- 
quired the faculty of speaking readily, with great point 
and energy, and with a most barmouious and expressive 
elocution. As a practitioner in surgery, he bad all the es- 
aebtial qualifications ; sound judgment, cool determina* 
tion, and great manual dexterity. The following is a list 
of his works : 1. *' An Account of Tumours which soften 
the Bones," Philos. Trans. 1741, No. 459. 2. «« A Trea- 
tise on Ruptures," 1756, 8vo,' second edition, 1763. 3. 
** An Account of a particular kind of Rupture, frequently 
attendant upon new-born Children, and sometimes met 
with in Adults," 1756, Svo. 4. *^ Observations on that 
Disorder of the corner of the Ej^e commonly called Fistula 
Lachrymalis," 1758, Svo. 5. ^'Observations on the Nature 
and Consequences of Wounds and Contusions of the Head» 
Fractures of the Skull, Concussions of the Brain," &c. 
1760, ' Svo. ' 6. ** Practical Remarks on the Hydrocele, or 
Watery Rupture, and some other Diseases of the Testicle, 
its Coats and Vessels. Being a Supplement to the Treatise 
oh Ruptures, 1762," Svo. 7. "An Account of an Hernia of 
the Urinary Bladder including a Stone," Philos. Transact, 
vol. LIV. 1764. S. ^* Remarks on the Disease commonly 
caled a Fistula in Ano," 1765, Svo. 9. " Observations ou 
the Nature and Consequences of those Injuries to which 
the Head is liable from external Violence. To which are 
added, some few general Remarks on Fractures and Dislo- 
cations," Svo, 1768., This is properly a second edition of 
No. 5. 10, *'An Account of the Method of obtaining a 
perfect or radical Cure of the Hydrocele, or Watry Rup- 
ture, by means of a seton," 1772, Svo. 11. " Chirur- 
gical Observations relative to the Cataract, the Polypus of 
the Nose, the Cancer of the Scrotum, the different kinds 
of Ruptures, and the Mortification of the Toes and Feet,'* 
1775, Svo. 12. ^' Remarks on that kind of Palay of the 
lower Limbs, which is frequently found to accompany a 
Curvature of- the Spine, and is supposed to be caused by 
it; together with its Method of Cure," 1779, Svo. 13. 
<' Further Remarks on the useless State of the lower Liinbs 
in consequence of a Curvature of the Spine ;" being a sup* 
pleroent to the former treatise, 17S3, Svo. These works 
were published collectively by himself, in quarto ; and 
«iuce bis death, in 3 vols, Svo, by bis son-iiwlaw^ Mr. (pow 



POTT. 92$ 

sir James, ' Earle^ witb occasional notes and observatiohsi 
and the last corrections of the author. This edition was 
published in 1790'; and Mr. Earle has prefiared a life of 
Mr. Pott^ from which the present account is taken. 

We are assured, that Mr. J^ott was no less amiable in 
private life than eminent in his profession. While his 
mother lived, he dedlined matrimonial engagement ; bnt^ 
in 1746, soon after her death, he married the daughter of 
Revert Cruttenden, esq. by whom he had four sons and as 
many daughters. Diiigent as he was in his profession, he 
never suffered his attention to its avocations to interfere 
With' the duties of a husband or a father ; but though he 
was pleasing as a companion^ his professional manners had 
much of the roughness of the old school of surgery. la ' 
his person be was rather lower than the middle sise, wifh 
an expressive and animated countenance. For the chief 
part of his life hjs tabonrs were without relaxation ; but 
latterly he had a villa at Neasden, and usually passed about 
a month at Bath, or near the sea. ' 

POTT£R (Barnabas), a pious .prelate of the church of 
England, y(9s bom within the barony of Kendall, in the 
county of Westmoreland, in 157 S or 1579. In his fifteenth 
year he entered Queen's college, Oxford,' as a poor stu- 
dent, or tabarder, but made such progress in iiis studies^ 
that he took his degrees with gi*eat reputation ; and wbea 
master of arts, was chosen fellow of his college. During 
his fellowship he became tutor to the sons of several gen- 
tlemen of rank and worth, whotn be assiduously trained in 
learning and rel^ion. After, taking orders, he was for 
#ome tidie lectorer at Abington, and at Totnes^ in Devon- 
shire, where he was highly respected as an affecting 
.preacher, and was, according to Wood, tnuch followed by 
>the puritans. In 1610 he was chosen principal of Edmund 
JSali, but resigned, and was never admitted into that 
office. In 16 15 he completed his degrees in divinity; and 
being presented the following year to a pastoral charge^ 
by sir Edward Giles of Devonshire, he married the daugh- 
ter of that gentleman, and intended to settle in that coun- 
try. Such, however, was the character he had left behind him 
at Oxford, thst on the death of Dr. Airay, the same year, 
he was unanimously elected provost of Queen's college, en- 
tirely without his knowledge* This station he retained 
^bout ten years; and being then one of the king^s chap- 

' Life, prefixed to hif worki. ' 

Vot. XXV. Q 



326 POTTER. 

lahisi, resigned the provostsbip in favour- of his nephew^ 
the subject of our next article. He was now again about 
to settle in Devonshire'; when king Charlef^ passing by, as 
we are told^ many solicitations in favour of others, peremp- 
torily nominated him bfshqp of Carlisle in 1628. Wood 
adds, that in this promotion be had the interest of bishop 
t^aiid^ <* although a thorough-paced Calvinist.*' He conti^ 
lined, however, afnequentand favourite preacher; and; says 
'Fuller, ^< was commonly called the imritanicai bishop; and 
tbey would say of him, in the time of king James, that 
organs would blow him out of the church ; which I do not 
believe ; the rather, because he was loving of and skilful 
in vocal music, and could bear bis own part therein.'*. 
! In. the beginning of the long parliament he preached at 
Westpiinster, and inveighed against the corruptions and 
innovations thsit had crept into the churefa, and his senti- 
ments were generally approved of; but, in the confusion 
mnd prejudices which ensued, he did not escape without 
the usual crimes imputed to men of rank in the church, and 
was censured as popish, merely becausie he was a bishop. 
This treatment, and a foresight of the calamities about to 
lall on his church and nation, are said to have hastened hia 
•death, which happened at his lodgings in Covent-garde», 
in January 1 642. He was intemd in the church of St. 
iPaul, Covent*garden. He died, says Fuller, ^^ in honour, 
being the last bidiop that died a member of parliament'* 

Wood mentions, as his writings, *' Lectures on some 

.chiapters of Genesis,'^ 'but knows not whiether printed ; and 

several sermons; one, **The Baronet's Burial,'' on the 

-burial of Sir Edmund Seymour, Oxon. 1613, 4 to; and 

another, on E^ter Tuesday, one of the Spital sermons.' 

POTTER (Christopher), nephew to the preceding, 
'. was born also within the barony of Kendal in Westmorland, 
about 1591, and becamecl^rkof Queen's college, Oxford, 
.in the beginning of 1606. On April 30, 1610; he took the 
, degree of B. A. and July 8, 1 6 1 3, that of M. A. ; and the same 
- year was chosen cbaplainof the college, and afterwards fellow 
*ofit He was then a great admirer of Dr. Henry Airay, pro- 
vost of that college, some of whose works he published, and 
who was a zealous puritan, and a lecturer at Abingdon in 
Berks, where he was much resorted to for his preaching. 
On March the 9th, 1620, be took the degree of bachelor of 
• divinity, and February 17, 1626*7,' that* of doctor, having 

* Ath. Ox. Tol. II. — Clark'g Lives of Modern Divines. — Fuller's Worthiff,'^ 
Irloyil's Meiaoirs, folio, where it tb« falleit a«CQVBt of Utcbaracler* 



POTTER- ?27 

mrceeeded bis UQclef Dr. Bariiabas Potter in tbeprpTos^ship 
<)f bis college on tbe 17tb of June, 1626. " Soon after,'* 
ijays ,Mr. Wood, << wben Dr. Land became a rising favou- 
ji^ at court, be, after a.great deal ofsejekiiig, was ma,de bi9 
prealure, and therefore by the precise party he .was .es- 
teemed aq Arminian." On March the 15th, 16'^8, he 
preacb^d a Sermon on John xxi; 17. at the consecration. of 
bis uncle to the bishopric of Carlisle at Ely HouseunHol- 
J)orn 'y : which was printed at London, .1629, in 8vo, . and iu- 
yolved bim in a short controversy with Mr. .Vicars, a friend 
pi bis, who blanoed him for a leaning towards Arminianism. 
Jn 1633 .he publisbed;bis ** Answer to a late Popish Pam* 
phlet, :entitled. Charity mistaken.'* The cause was this . 
A J«|»uit who went by the name of Edward Knott, but whQse 
true name w^ Matthias Wilson, bad publUhed in 1630^, a 
Jiittle book in ; S vo, called '^ Charity mistaken, with Jtbe 
.3¥s^nt whereof Catbolicks are unjustly charged, for affirming, 
jas they dowith grief, that Protestancy unrepented destrojies 
Solvation." Dr. Potter publisbedan answer to this at Ox- 
%d, 1633, in 8vo,' with this title: "Want of Charitie 
justly charged on all such Romanists as dare (without truth 
: ,or modesty) affi^'me, that Protestancie destroy etb Salvation; 
or, an Answer to a late Popish paippblet,. intituled,. Cba* 
xity mistaken, ^c." The second edition- revised anjd/enr ^ 
larged, was printed at London, 1634, in 3vo. Pryn^e;job- 
iSje.rvesr.that bishop Laud, having perused . the first edition, 
.paused some. things to be omitted in the second. Itisdedi- 
c^ted to King Charles I. and in the dedication Dr. Potter 
observes, tbs^t it was," undertaken inobedience-to his vma^ 
jesty's particular commandment." 

.. In ,1635 be was promoted* to the deanery of- Worcester, 
paving before had a promise of a canonry of Windsor, 
which be never enjoyed.- In 1640 he was, vice-chan- 
/cellor of : tbe^ university of Oxford, in the execution of 
\9Yhich office he met with some trouble froni the members 
pf.tbe long .parliaments^ Upon breaking out of the civil 
wars, be sent all bis plate to the king, and declared, that 
be Wi)uld rather,;- like Diogenes, drink in tbe hollow of s his 
band, than that bis majesty should want ; and he afterwards 
su0er€^d much for the royal cause. In consideration of 
this, upon the death of Dr. Waiter Balcanqual, he was 
npqainated- to the deanery of Durham in January 1645-6; 
j)ut was prevei)ted from being instaUed by bis death, wbicb 
happened at bis college March the 3d following. He was 

Q 2 



i2S POTTER. 

interred about the middle of the chcpel there ;' ttid btet IM 
grave was a marble monument fastened to the north wall^ 
at the expence of his widovr Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. 
Charles Soiiibanke, some time canon of Windsor, after- 
wards wife of Dr. Gerard Langbatne, who succeeded Dr. 
Potter in the provostship of Queen's college. He w«f 
a person esteemed by all that knew him to be learhed and 
religious ; exemplary in his behaviour and discourse, cour- 
teous in his carriage, and of a sweet and obliging nature^ 
and comely presence. But he was more especially rew 
markable for his charity to the poor ; for though be had 4 
wife and many children, and expected daily to be seques- 
tered, yet he continued his usual liberality to them, havings 
on bearing Dr. Hammond's sermon at St. PauPs, been per^ 
auaded of the truth of that diviners assertion, that charity 
to the poor was the way to gr6w richi He translated frond 
Italian into English, ** Father Paulas History of the Quar« 
rels of Pope Paul V. with the State of Venice,** London^ 
1626; 4to; and left several MSS. prepared for the pres% 
one of which, entitled ** A Survey of the Platform of Pre- 
destination,'* falling into the hands of Dr* William Twiss^ 
of Newbury, was answered by him. This*subject perhaps 
h more fully discussed in his controversy with Mr. Vicars^ 
vrhich was republished at Cambridge in 1719, in a *< Coi- 
lection of Tracts concerning Predestination and Providence.** 
The reader to whom this ** Collection'* may not be acces- 
sible, will 6nd an interesting extract, from Dr.Potter's part, 
in Dr. Wordsworth's " Ecclesiastical Biography," voL V: 
p. 504, &c. Chillingworth likewise engaged in the con-^ 
troversy against Knott. 

Dr. Potter had a son, Charles, who was bom at Ox- 
ford in 1633, and admitted a student of Christ Church in 
1647, but after completing bis master's degree, he left tb^ 
university, and when abroad with James Croits, afterward* 
created duke of Monmouth, he embraced the Roman Ca* 
^holic religion. He was afterwards one of the gentlemen 
pshers to his great uncle. Dr. Barnabas Potter, bishop of 
Carlisle. The ^* Theses Quadragesi males in scholis Oz<k 
piensibus public^ pro forma discussal," Oxon, 1649, 12mo^ 
was published with his name, bat the real author was bis 
9oHege tutor, Mr. Thomas Severn. * 

POTTER (Francis), a learned English divine, son of^ 
Bflr. Riqhard Potter, a native of Oxfordshire^ and vicar ^f 

\ Aik. Qx, rol. IL-^fien. ];^i«t.^FqU«r'i Woithic«. 



POTTER. f 2f 

Heyre'ifiWiftabire^ msborntn th^ricarage house there 
OQ.Triaity Sonday 1594, and educated in gtemmar learninc; 
in tfaeking'il school at Worcester under Mr. Henry Bright. 
He became a comtnoner of Trinity college, in Otfard, on* 
<ier bis elder brother Hannibal Potter, id the latter end of 
«he year 1609. On July 9, 1613, he took the degree of 
B» A. ; .June26, 1615, that of M. A. ; and July 8, 1625, that 
of B. D. He continued a close student in his college till the 
death of his father, in 1 6S7 ; and then succeeded him ia 
the rectory of Kilmington, left the university, and retired 
to his living, where he Itred in a very retired manner till 
bis deathl In 1642 ha published at Oxford in 4to, a trea- 
tise entitled ** An Interpretation of the number 666. 
Wherein not onely the manner how this number ought to 
be interpreted is clearly proved and demonstrated ; but it 
is also shewed, that this number is an exquisite and perfect 
character, truly, exactly, and essentially describing that 
•tate of government, to which all other notes of Antichrist 
do agree. With all knowne objections solidly and fuUy 
answered, that can be materially made against it.'' Prefixed 
to it is the following opinion of the learned Joseph Mede : 
^^ This discourse or tract of the number of the beast is.the 
happiest that ever yet came into the world, and such as 
cannot be read (save of those that perhaps will not beleeve 
it) without much admiration. The gromid hath been harped 
on before, namely, that that number was to be explicated by 
some mttaroij^ to the number of the Virgin-company and 
new Hierusalem, which type the true and Apostolical 
Churchy whose number is aJways derived from XII. -But 
never did any worke this principal to such a wonderfull dis- 
covery, as tliis author hath done, namely, to make this 
mimber not onely to shew the manner and property of that 
state, whieh was to be that beast, but to designe the city 
therein he should reigne; the figul^e and compasse thereof ; 
the number of gates, cardinall titles or churches, St. Pe* 
ter's altar, and I know not how many more the like, t 
vead the book at first with as much prejudice Against the 
numerical speculation .as might be, and almost against my 
will, having met with so much vanitie formerly in that 
kinde. But by the time I had done, it left me possesi 
with as much admiration, as I came to it with prc^udice.^* 

This treatise was afterwards translated into French^ 
Dutch, and Latin. The Latin version was made by several 
Jmftds. One edition was all or most traoslated by Mi; 



fe3p POTTER. 

Thdmas Gilbert, of Edmund Hall, in Oxford^ and print^^^ 
at Amsterdam -1677, in 8vo; part of the Latin translatioo 
18 inserted in. the second part of .the fourth volume of ^ 
Pool's *^ Syfiopsis Criticorum.'* Our- author's treatise was 
attacked by Mr. Lambert Morehouse, minister of Prest*. 
woody near Kilmlngton, who asserts, that 25 is not tbm 
true, butipropinque root of 666. Mr. Patter wrote a.Reply 
to. him. Mr. Morehouse. gave a manuscript copy of this 
dispute to Dr. Seth Ward, bishop of Sarum, in 1668. Our 
auUior, while he was very young, had a good talent at 
drawing and painting, anA the founder's picture in tlve hall 
of Tribity .college is of his copying. He had likewise jan 
excellent genius for mechanics, and made several inven- « 
tions for raising of water, and water*engines ; which bein^ 
co^omunicated to the Royal Society, about the time of its 
fi^st .establishment, were highly approved of, and he was 
admitted a member of that society. ]Vfr. Woo.d likewise 
observes, that about. 16 40, <^he entertained the notioa 
of, curing dilseases by transfusion of blood out of one 
man into another^ the hint whereof came into his head 
from Ovid's story of Medea and Jason; which matter he 
communicating to the Royal Society about the time of i|s 
first c;^ection, it. was entered into their books. But this 
way of transfusion haying (as it is said) been mentioned 
long before by Andr. Liba^ius, our .author Potter (v^bo I 
dare say never saw that writer) is not to be the first inveotor 
<>f that notion^ nor Dr. Richard Lewen, but rather an adr 
vancer." He became blind before his deaths and died at 
• Kilpoin'gton about April 1678, and was buried in the .obafi^ 
eel of. the ch.urch there. His memory was preserved i« 
Tdnity college'until 1670 by a di^l, which he constructed 
and placed on the north side of the old quadrangle, .but 
there is, now anotlier in its room. There are many anec^ 
' dotes oi him in the Aubrey MSS. but none* perhaps mor^ 
WQrth transcribing than the following. ^' The last time .1 , 
saw him^" says Aubrey, ^^ I asked him why he did not .get . 
some cousin or kinsman to be with him, and look to hipst 
t)ow in his great age i He answered me, that he had tried 
that way, .and^ found it not so well ; for they did. begrudge 
what he spent, that it was top mucb» and went from them, 
whetreas his servants (strangers) were kind to him, and took 
care .of him." Aubrey adds, that in the ** troublespme 
times it was his happiness . never to be sequestered. He 
lNra9 once, maliciously informed itgainst to th^ cpmmitte$^ at 



F Q T T TE ft. N 23 L 

Y^ol]s;(tfc thing T:ery common, in those times); but when he 
came before them, one of tbem (I have forgot his name) 
ga?e him a pint of . wine, ai^d gfve him great praise, . and 
biK)eh]j|ngo home, siod fear nothing/' He. seems. to^faaiVp 
wanted only opportojiities of conversing more frequently 
with hi». hearned contemporaries to have made a distin* 
guished figure in the infancy of the Royal Society* - 
"^ ijis brother, Dr. Hannibal Potter, who t^d been his 
tutor at college, was, upon the death of Dr. Kettle, elected 

' pferideot of Trinity college, but was ejected by the par-» 
liajnentary chancellor, lord Pembroke in person, attended 
by the parliamentary visitors and a guard of soldiers His 
only subsistence afterwards was a poor curacy ot^oL a vear^ 
from which he: was also ejected for using some part of th^ 
Littfrgy. * . . 

POTTER (John), archbishop of Canterbury, was the 

'K0O o& Thomas Potter, a linen draper at Wakefield^ia XoHk» 
shire,, ^ere . he was bom about the year 167f. He was 
educated at a school at Wakefield, and it is said, jpiade aa 
ttnd0mmon progress, in^ a sboirt time, especially in th# 
Greek languague. That this, however, was a prioate school 
se£^s to be taken for granted by Dr. Parr, who, after meii-* 
tioning. that j»ur author's Latin productions are not free 
ft;ic>m fauljts, says that he would have been taught to avoid • 
these f^ in our best public seminaries.^' At the age of four«^ 
teea, Mr. Potter was sent to Oxford, and entered a battler 
of University college in the b|;ginning. of ,1663.; There is 
^yi^y Tesuaem to think^hat hi* diligence heifer was eixemplary 

> and successful ; for, after. Caking his bachelor's degree,. Ire 
w^ employed by the roi^r of his college, the learned Dn ' 
Charletty to compile a work for the use of his fellow stu-» 
dents, .entitled, ^^ Variantes leQtiones et notm ad Plutarchi 
librum de ' andiendis poetis, item Yariantes lectiones, . &c. 
ad BasUii Magni orationen} Ad juveaes, quomodd cum fractu 
legere possio)^ Grsecorum libros," 8vo.. This was printed at 
the Uiii;versity press, Jihen in the Theatre, in 1693, at the 
ei^|>ence:of Df. Cbarlett, who used to present copies of it, 
a$ji new^'ye^'s'gift, t(v the young .students of University 
college, .tod tp others of his. friends. 

In 16d4 he was chosen . fellow of Lincoln college, and 
proceediog M. A. iu .October of the. same year, he took 
pupils and went into orders. Still, pursuing bis private 

^ Atb. Ox. vol. II.-^Aubrey MSS. in Letteirf of EfiH4i|it?«rt9nf, 9 voli. 8v^ 
it|S.— flto. Diet.— Walker^s SuffjriDgt of th« C]ef!gr» 



2S2 Pf O T T E R. 

fltudiesy he produced, in 1697, bis beaatifdl edition of Lj^ 
Copbron^s ^^ Alexandra,^'. foL tbe secood edition^ of wbicb^ 
in 1702, Dr. Harwood prpnounces "an everlasting mOBu^ 
ipent of the learning of tbe illustrious editor.'* It is no 
inconsiderable proof of bis having distinguished himself in 
tbe republic of letters; that we find him already cor- 
n^ponding with many eminent scholars on the contineD^ 
mild among Dr. Mead's letters are some from Mr. Potter to 
GrsBvius, from whom be received tbe Basil edition of Ly* 
copbron, 1546, collated with ancient vallum MSS. and by 
this assistance^ he was enabled to cc^'rect and enlarge thie 
commentaries of Tzetzes in no less than two hundred places, 
and throw much additional light on this very obscure poem. 
In the same year he printed the first volume of his Arcbaeo- 
logia Grseca," or Antiquities pf Greece, and in the fol- 
lowing year, 1698, the second volume. Several improve- 
ments were introdi^;ed by him in the subsequent editions of 
this valuable wbrk, which has hit^rto been unrivalled, and 
be lived to see at least five editions printed. It still con- 
tinues a standard book for Geeek students. It was incorpo^ 
rated in Gronovius's Thesaurus. In the preface to the fifth 
edition he speaks of a Latin edition printed in Holland^, the 
publisher of which pretended.it was corrected by the author ; 
but be assures us that '^he never saw it till it was all 
printed, and therefore the many ervors in it must not be 
imputed to him." " • 

In July 1704 he conunenced bachelor of divinity, and 
being about tbe saiUe time apjpeinted chaplain t#«rcbbisbop 
Tenison, be removed from Oxford to reside at Lambeth 
palace. He proceeded D. D. in April 1 706, and soon aftw 
bebame chaplain in ordinary to queen Anne.^ In 1707 ap- 
peared his first publicatioo connected with his profession, 
entitled a ^* l!)iscourse of Church Government,'* S^vo. In 
this he asserts the constitution, rights, and government, of 
the Christian church, chiefly as described by the fathers <^ 
the first three centuries against Eras|}||an principles ; his de* 
sign being to vindicate tbe ehuroh of En^and from 4be 
charge of those principles. In this view, among other 
ecclesiastical powers distinct from the state, he maintains 
the doctrine of our church, concerning the distihctioD of 
the three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons, particu* 
larly with regard to the superiority of the episcopal ordof 
above that of presbyters, which he endeavours to prove 
was settled by divine institutioti : that this distinction w«$ 



P O T T E R. i$$ 

in feet constantly kept up to the time of Constantine : and 
in the neict age after that^ the same distinction^ he observes, 
was constantly reckoned to be of divine institution, and 
derired from the apostles down to these times. ' 

' In the beginning of 1708, he succeeded Dr. Jane as re^ 
gius professor of divinity, and canon' of Christ Church, 
who brought him back to Oxford. This promotion he 
owed to the interest of the celebrated duke of Marlborough, 
and to the opinion held concerning him that he was *a 
Whig ; whereas Dr. Smalridge, whom the other party 
wished to succeed in the professorship and canonry, had 
distinguished himself by opposition to the whig-measures 
of the court. In point of qualification these divines might 
be equal, ' and Dr. Potter certainly, both as a scholar and 
divine, was liable to no objection. It was probably to the 
same interest that he owed his promotion, in April 1715, to 
Ae see qf Oxford. Just before he was made bishop he 
published, what had occupied his attention a very consri^ 
derable time, his splendid and elaborate edition of the 
works of Clemens Alexandrinus, 2 vols. fol. Gr. and Lac. 
an edition, says Harwood, ** worthy of the celebrity of the 
place where it was published, and the erudition of the very 
learned prelate, who has so happily illustrated this miscef*^ 
lan^ous writer." In this he has given an entire new version 
of the ** Cohortations," and intended to have done the 
same for the *^ Stromata,'' but was prevented by the duties 
6f his professorship. In his preface he intreats the reader^s 
eiindour as to some typographical errors, he being afflicted 
during part of the printing by a Complaint in his eyes, 
which obliged him to trust the correction of the^ press to 
ethers. 

« For some time after his being made bishop of Oxford, he 
fetained the divinity chair, and filled both the dignities 
with great reputation, rarely failing to preside in person 
over the divinity disputations in the schools, and regularly 
lioiding his triennial visitation at St. Mary^s church ; upon 
which occasions his charges to the clergy were suited to the 
exigencies of the times. In 1717, Dr. Hoadly, then hi* 
shop of Bangor, having advanced some doctrines, respect* 
ing sincerity, in one of his tracts, which our prelate judged 
to be injurious to true religion, he took occasion to ani- 
madvert upon them in his first visitation the following year; 
Mt4 bis charge having been published, at the request of his 
elei'gy^ Di^^ Hoadly answered it, which ptoduced a reply, 



«34 POTTER. 

from .our prelate. In this short controversy, he displayed 
more warmth. than was thought consistent with the general 
moderation of his temper ; but auch were his arguments and 
his character, that Hoadly is said to have been more con- 
cerned on account of this adversary than of any other he 
had thtsn encountered. 

Some time after this he became much a favourite with 
queen Caroline, then princess of Wales ; and upon the ac- 
cession of George II. preached the coronation sermon, Oct. 
11, 1727, which was afterwards printed by his majesty's 
express commands, and is inserted among the bishop's 
theological works. It was generally supposed that the 
chief direction of public afiairs, with regard to the church, 
was designed to be committed to his care; but as he saw 
that this must involve him in the politics of the times, he 
declined the proposal, and returned to his bishopric, until 
the death of Dr. Wake, in January 1737, when he was ap» 
pointed his successor in the archbishopric of Canterbury. 
This high office he filled during the space of ten years with 
great reputation, and towards the close of that period fell 
into a lingering disorder, which put a period to his life Oct. 
10, 1747, in the seventy- fourth year, of his age. He was 
buried at Croydon. 

He left behind him the character of a prelate of distin- 
guished piety and learning, strictly orthodox in respect to 
the established^ doctrines of the church of England, and a 
zealous ailri vigilant guardian of her interests. He was a 
great advocate for regularity, order, and oecaoomy, bat 
he supported the dignity of his high office of archbisbopy in 
a manner which was by some attributed to a baughtinesa of 
temper. Whiston is his principal accuser, in this respect^ 
but allowances must.be made for that writer's prejudices, 
especially when we find that among the heaviest chaiges 
h% brings against th^ archbishop is his having the Athana<- 
sian Creed read in bis chapel. He had a numerous family 
of children, of whom three daughters and two sons survived 
him. One of his daughters, Mrs. Sayer, died in 1771. 

His eldest son, John Potter, born in 1713, after apri* 
vate education, was entered a member of Christ Churcliy 
Oxford, in .1727, and took his master's degree in 1734. 
After he went into orders/ be obtained from his father the 
vicarage of Blackburne, in the county of Lancaster, and ia 
1739, the valuable sinecure of Elme cum Emneth, ip the 
isle^of Ely. In^ 1741 (lis. JE^ther presented him to tb^ arch-. 



POT T E It 23j5 

<ieaconry of Oxford. His other promotions were the vtca<^ 
mge of ;Lydde in Kent, the twelfth prebend of Canterbury, 
and the rich benefice of Wrotfaam in Kent, with which he 
retained the vicarage of Lydde* In 1 766 he was advanced 
to the de^nftry of . Canterbury, on which be resigned the 
archdeaconry of Oxford. He died at Wrotham Sept. 2Q, 
1 770, - He offended his father very much by marrying one 
of his servants, in consequence of which, although the 
archbishop^ as we have seen, gave him many preferments, 
be left his personal fortune, which has been estimated at 
70,000/. some say 90,000/. to his second son, Thomas Pot- 
ter, esq. who followed the profession of the law, became 
recorder 9f Bath, joint vice-:treasurer of Ireland, and mem- 
ber of parliament for Aylesbury and Oakhampton. He 
died June, 17, 1759. 

The Archbishop's works were published in 1753,. 3 vols. 
8vo,^ under the title of "TbeTheological Worksof Dr.John 
Potter, &c. containing bis Sermons, Charges, Discourse of 
Cburch.*gdverninent, and Divinity Lectures.'* He had 
himaelf fMrepared these for the press ; his divinity lectures 
forme continued treatise on the authority and inspiration of 
the, Scriptures. SomeJetters of his, relative to St. Luke's 
Gospel, &c. are printed in "Atterbury's Correspondence."* 

POTTER or POTER (Paul), an. excellent landscape 
painter, was i born ^tEnkbuysen, in 1625, and learned the 
principles of painting from his father, Peter Potter, who 
was, but a moderate artist ; yet, by the power of an enlarged 
gii^nius and uncommon capacity, which he discovered even 
in,bis infapdy, hi^ improvement- was so extraordinary, that •** 
he was considered as a prodigy, and appeared* an , expert 
master in bis profession at the age of fifteen. 
. . Paurs.\subjepts were landscapes, with different animals,., 
iiotrprincipally cows,- oxen, sheep, and goats, which he 
p;stintjed in the highest perfection. His colouring is saft, 
agreeable^ and transparent, and appears to be true nature; 
iis tguch is free,*an4 exceedingly delicate, and his outline 
very cprr;ect. His skies, trees, and distances, shew a re- 
markable freedom, of hand, .and a masterly ease and negli- 
gence: but his animals, are exquisitely finished, and touched 
..with abundance of spirit. On these accounts he is es- 
tee^i^d.one of. the best painters of the. Low Countries. 
J^^t only ao^usement, was. walking into the fields ;. and even 

. . » Biog.. Brit.— Alb. Ox. yol. ^I.^NichoU'8 Bowyer.— Whiston'g Life. . 



236 P O T T E K. 

that amusement be so managed, as to make it conduce to 
the advancement of his knowledge in that art; for he 
always sketched every scene and object on the spot, and 
afterwards composed his subjects from his drawings; fre^ 
quently he etched those sketches, and the prints are de- 
servedly very estimable. 

The paintings of Potter are exceedingly coveted, and bear 
a high price ; because, beside their intrinsic merit, the artist 
having died young, in his twenty-ninth year, in 1654, and 
not painted a great number of pictures, they are now scarcely 
to be procured at any rate. One landscape, which origi- 
nally he painted for the countess of Solms, was afterwards 
sold (as Houbraken affirms) to Jacob Van Hoeck, for 200O 
florins. Lord Grosvenor has in his collection a small work '. 
bf Potter's, for which his lordship gave 900 guineas.' 

POTTER (Robert), an excellent classical scholar and 
translator, was born in 1721 ; but where, or of what fa«- 
mily, we have not discovered. He was educated at Em-* 
manuel college, Cambridge, and' took his bachelor's degree 
in 1741, but that of master not until 1788, according to 
the published list of Cambridge graduates, probably owing 
to his being then made a dignitary in Norwich cathedral. 
His first preferment was the vicarage of Scarning in 
Norfolk, in the gift of the Warner family ; and, until he 
completed his translation of Sophdcles, he held no higher 
.preferment. In 1774, he published, in octavo, a volume 
of poems, some of which had appeared before separately: 
they consist of, "A Birth-day Thought;'* <* Cynthia;*' 
'** Verses to the same ;'* <* Retirement, an epistle to Dr^ 
Hurd ;" " A Fragment ;'• " Verses to the painter of Mrs. 
Longe*s picture at Spixworth ;" " An Ode to Phibdea ;*^ ^ 
'< Verses to the same, exemplifying the absurdity of an 
affected alliteration in poetry ;*' *^ Two Pieces in imita- 
tion of Spenser ;*' ** Holkham, inscribed to the earl of * 
Leicester ;'^ ** Kymber, to Sir A. Woodhouse ;" and a cho* 
rus from the '^ Hecuba*' of Euripides, his intended trans- 
lation of whose tragedies he announces in an advertise^ 
ment. In most of these poems, particularly the ^* Holk- 
ham,** and ^< Kymber,** he shews himself a succemful 
imitator of Pope. In the following year he published a 
very judicious tract, entitled " Observations on the Poor 
Laws, on the present state of the Poor, and on houses of 

1 PJlkiogtoB.— Rcts'f Cydoi^ift.«-AifeB?iU«, vol. HI.— Dncaniri^ vol. fit 



P O T T E B. 2il 

Industiy/' in which bis principal object was, to recom* 
mend houses of industry, upon the plan of those already 
established in some parts of Norfolk aud SuffoUc, particu* 
lariy that at Buloamp. 

Although Mr. Potter had announced his ^^ Euripides*' as 
in a state of preparation for the press, he first published^ 
in 1777, his translation of ^^^schylus/' in a quarto vo- 
lume, indisputably the best translation of any Greek poet 
that had appeared in the English language. In the same 
year appeared his '^ Notes ^on the Tragedies of JEschylus,'^ 
about eighty pages in quarto. These were dedicated to 
Mrs. Montague, at whose request they were written, and 
were printed and distributed at her expence gratis to the 
purchasers of the tragedies. A second edition appeared 
in 1779, in two volumes octavo, corrected in many places^ 
and with the notes inserted in their respective places. In 
1781, he published the first volume of. his translation of 
** Euripides," in quarto ;- and, the following year, the se- 
cond ; and, in 1788, that of ** Sophocles," in the same 
si2e^ These last*mentioned versions are, on the whole, in« 
ferior to his first production, yet they are each of them 
excellent performances, and thought even superior to 
those of Mr. Wodhuil and Dr.. Franklin. Besides these 
very- laborious works, Mr. Potter published, in 1783, in 
quarto^ <^ An Enquiry into some passages of Dr. Johnson's 
Lives of the Poets ;" in which we are sorry to observe a 
degree of petulance unworthy of liberal criticism ; and, in 
1785, in qaarto, ^^ A Translation of the Oracle concerning 
Babylon, and the Song of Exultation, firom Isaiah, cbap% 
xiiL and xiv.'* and '^ A Sermon on the Thanksgiving for the 
Peace, 1802.** 

In 1788 he was promoted by the lord chancellor Thur« 
low to the dignity of a prebendary in the cathedral of Nor- 
wich. He had been a schoolfellow of lord Thurlow, and 
had constantly sent bis publications to that , nobleman^ 
without ever soliciting a single favour from him. On re-^ 
ceiviog a copy of the <^ Sophocles,*' however, his lordship 
wrote a short note to Mr. Potter, acknowledging the receipt 
of his books from time to time, and the pleasure they bad 
afforded him, and requesting Mf. Potter's acceptance of 
a prebeudal stall in the cathedral of Norwich. In the 
following year, and during his residence at Norwich, 
the united vicarages of Lowestoft and Kessingland were 
presented to him^ without solicitation^from any quarter, by 



33S POTTER. 

» 

-Br. Bagot, then bishop of Norwich. His mindiwfts sensibly 
impressed by such a disinterested and honourable mark of 
•that prelate's favour, which was the greater, as these 
united vicarages were the best subject of patronage that fell 
Yacant during 'the seven years that Dr. Bagot held the ^e^. 
^r. Potter died suddenly, in the night-time, at Lowestoff, 
Aug. 9, 1804, in the eighty-third year of- his age.. .HiS 
was a man of unassuming simple manners, and his life was 
exemplary. His translations are a sufficient proof of vliia 
intimate acquaintance with classical learning, and in'tbi9 
character he was highly respected by the literati of his 
time. It is said that he left a manuscript biography of? the 
learned men of Norfolk, .but into whose hands this, hai 
fallen, we have not heard.^ 

. P.OUGET (Francis Amb'), a French divine, succes- 
sively priest of the oratory, doctor of the Sorbonne, and 
'abb6 of Chambon, was born at Montpellier in 1666. .He 
-was some time at the head of an- ecclesiastical seminary, 
under Colbert, bishop of Montpellier; where he wasfQf 
infinite service, not only by the excellence of his jnstruc* 
dons, but the purity of his example. He was vicar of St. 
Roch at Paris, in 1692, andi had there the credit*of con- 
tributing to the penitence of the celebrated La Fantaine^ 
of which the English reader .may see his own curious ac* 
count in the ** New Men^oirs of Literature,'- vol. X.; His 
latter days were passed at Paris, in the religious house of 
St. Magloire, where he died in 1723, at the age of iifty^ 
seven. Father Fouget was the author of some works,- of 
which the most remarkable is, '^ The Catechism of Mont- 
pellier,'* the best edition of which is that of Paris in 1702, 
in 4to. It is a kind of body of divinity, and has bjeen con- 
sidered by- the clergy of his communion as the, most pre- 
cise, clear, and elegantly simple statement of ^ the doc- 
trines and practices of religion that- has ever been pro- 
duced. He was concerned in- some other works, which 
were not entirely his own ;' such as " The- Breviary of^Nar- 
bonne;" '^ Martinay's edition of St. Jerom ; Montfauco^'s 
Greek Analects^ and a book of instructions for the. Knights 
of Malta.' 
POULLAIN (Francis.); See BARRE'. 

1 9enL Mag. vol. LXXIV. and LXXXIIL^-Forbei'i Life of Beattic— 
KichaU* Bowyer.'— Monthly Reriew. 
s Mor6n.*-Dict. Hist. 



P O UP ART. if39 

1 POUPART (Francis) j a celebrated anatomist and phy- 
stetaii, was i>orD at, Mans,- and after receiving soma educa- 
tion ander the fathers of oratory, went to Paris, where he 
« applied himself, with great assiduity, to natural history 
and philosophy. In the study of the former he had be^n 
led to the eicamioation and dissection of insects, which 
turned his mind to anatomy and surgery, as the means of 
support; for which purpose he presented himself at the 
HcKel Dieu, and passed his examinations with great 
appiaastf, which occasioned the more surprise, as he 
airowed that he had had no opportunity of obtaining prac* 
tical information, and knew no more of surgery than to let 
^lood. He subsequently received the degree- of doctor in 
medicine at Rheims, in 169-9, and wa» admitted a. member 
of the Academy of Sciences. He did not long survive to 
receive the rewards, of his industry ; for he died at Paris, 
in October 1708, in a state of considerable poverty, which 
he supported with cheerfulness. His success in anatomical 
investigation may be estimated from the transmission of his 
name, attached to an important ligament. The Memoirs of 
the Academy comprize many of his papers, besides a 
*^ Dissertation sur la Sangue,'' published in the Journal des 
Savans ; viz. a '' M^moire sur ies Insectes Hermaphro- 
dites ;" ^* L'Histoire du Formica Leo ;" that of the ** For- 
mica Pulex;" " Observations sur Ies Moules;" " Disser- 
tation sur T Apparition des Esprtts,*' on the occasion of 
the adventure of St. Maur, and some other papers. He is 
also considered as the editor of a ^^ Chirurgie complette,** 
which is a compilation from many works upon that art. ' 
. POURCHOT (Edmund), an eminent French professor 
of philosophy, was born at Poiliy,. a village in the diocese 
of Sens, in the year 1651, and studied at the university of 
Paris, where he distinguished himself by his talents and 
great diligence, and in 1673 he was admitted to the de- 
gree of M. A. In the year 1677 he was appointed profes- 
sor of philosophy in his own college, whither his repntatioa 
soon attracted a multitude of students ; and at the opening 
^ .of the *< College des Quatre Nations,'* he was appointed to 
fill the philosophical chair in that seminary. > Mr. Pour* 
chot soon becanoie dissatisfied with the Aristotelian phih)** 
sophy, and embraced the principles of Des Carles, apply big 
ififithematical principles and reasoniugps to the discovery of 

^ &of, Diet. Hist^ de Medeciae.— -NioeroD, rol. XI. 



i40 P O U R C H O T. 

physical an<l moral truths. He now drew tip a systenf at 
pbilosopbyy which be published under the title of ^< Insti-* 
tutiones Philosophies/' which was- very generally ap« 
plauded, and met with an astonishing sale. His i«puta-> 
tion as a philosopher, at this time, stood so high, that hts 
Jectures were always attended by a numeroui^ concourse o^ 
students. His acquaintance was eagerly courted by the 
most celebrated literary characters of his time : Racine, 
Desp'reaux, Mabilloo, Dupin, Baillet, Montfttucon, and 
Ssnteul,. were his intimate associates. He was. honoured 
with the esteem of M. Bossuet and M. de Fenelon. Tha 
latter would have procured for him the appointment of 
tutor to the younger branches of the royal family, but he 
preferred to employ his talents in the serrice of the univer-> 
aity ; and was seven times chosen to fill the post of rector 
of that body, and was syndic for the long space of fortjr 
years. At a very advanced age he began to apply him* 
self to the study of the Hebrew language, with a degree 
of ardour which soon enabled him to deliver, a course of 
lectures upon it at the college of St. Barbe. f n the midst 
of bis numerous engagements,, be found leisure to improve 
his ^^ Philosophical Institutions,'^ of which he was prepar:^ 
ing the fourth edition for the press, when he kjst bis eye- 
sight. He died at Paris in 1734, in the 83d year of hi^ 
age. Besides his *^ Institutions," he was author of nu«- 
merous '^Discourses," which were given to the public in 
<he '* Acts of the University," and various •* Memoirs.** 
He assisted the learned Masclef in : greatly improving the 
second edition of his ^'Grammatica Hebraica," and be 
aided him in drawing up the Chaldee, Syriac, and Sama- 
ritan grammars, which are combined in that edition.^ 

POUSSIN (Nicholas), an eminent French painter, was 
born at Andely, a little town in Normandy, in 1594. His 
family, however, were originally of Soissons; in wfaicfa 
city there were some of his relations officers in the Fresi- 
dial court. John Poussin, his father, was of noble extrac- 
tion, but born to a very small estate. His son, seeing the 
narrowness of his circumstances, determined to support' 
himself as soon as possible, and chose painting for his 
profession, having naturally a strong inclination to that art. 
At eighteen, he went to Paris, to learn the rudiments of 
it. A Poictevin lord, who had taken a liking to him, placed 

1 Mortri.-^Dict. Bht. 



P O U S S I N, «41L 

hi0 mib Ferdioaiidy a portrdit-painter) whom Ponssin left 
ia three iQontbs to place bimaelf with • Lalleniant, wkh 
wboca he i»taid hut a month : he saw he should never leara 
any thing from such masters, and he resolved not to lose 
Us time with them ; belieying he should profit more by 
atudyiog the vrotk^ of g^at ma^terS) than by the discipline 
of ordinary painters. He worked a while in distemper^ 
and performed it with extraordinary facility. The Italiaa 
pcaet Marino being at that time iu Paris, and perceiving 
PoHSsin's genius to be superior to the small performances 
po which he w^s employed, persuaded him to go with him 
in%o Italy : Poussin had before made two vain attempts to 
undertake that journey, yet by some means or other w^ 
hiadered. from accepting this opportunity. He promised^ 
bowever, to follow in a short time; which he. did, though 
not ;. till h^ had. painted several other pictures in Paris^ 
l^moog which was the Death of the Virgin, for the chui^ca 
of JMdtre-Dame. Having finished hia business, he set out 
for Rome in his thirtieth year. 

He there met with his friend, the cavalier Marino, who 
rejoiced to see him ; and that he migbt be as serviceable 
as. be could, recommended him to cai'dinal. Barberiei, wh9 
desired to be acquainted with him. Yet by some meant 
or other, he diil not emerge, and could scarcely maintain 
himself. He was forced to give i^way his works for sums 
that would hardly pay for his colours. His courage, how«f 
«ver, did not fail ; he prosecuted his studies assiduously^ 
resolvinig, at all events, to make himself master of his pro- 
fession. He had little money to spend, apd therefore the 
fOQte leisure to retire by himself, and design the beautiful 
objects in Rome, as well antiquities as the works of the 
&moQ8 Roman painters. ' It is said, that he at first copied 
ftome of Titian's pieces, with whose colouring, and the 
^ucbes of whose landscapes, he was infinitely pleased* 
It it observable, indeed, that his first pieces are painted 
in a better style of colouring than his. last. But he soon 
ahewed, Jby his performances, that, generally speakings 
he did not much value the part of colouring; or thought he 
knew enough of it, to make his pictures as perfect as he 
intended. He had studied the beauties of the antique^ the 
elegance^ the grand gusto, the correctness, the variety of 
proportions, the adjustments, the order of the draperies^ 
the nobleness, the fine air and boldness of the heads ; the 
snanners, customs of times and places, and every thing thsut 

VoJL. XXV. R 



f4ft P O U S S I N. 

18 beautiful in the remains of ancient sculpture, to stich a 
degree, that one can* never enough admire the efxactness 
^vith which he has enriched his painting in alt those par*> 
ticulars. 

He tised frequently to examine the ancient sculptures iit 
the vineyards about Rom^, and this confirmed him more 
and more in' the love of those antiquities. He would spend 
several'days together ^in making reBections upon them by 
himself. It was in these retirements that he considered the 
extraordinary effects of nature with respect to )andsca|>e9, 
that hedesigiiled his animals, his distances, his trees, and 
every thing excellent that was agreeable to his taste. He 
also made curious observations on the works of Raphael 
and Domenichino ; who of all painters, in his opinidn, in- 
vented best, designed most correctly, and expire'ssed th^ 
passions most vigorously : three things, which Povnsin 4es- 
teemed the most essential parts of painting. He neglected 
nothing that coold render his knowledge in these three 
parts perfect : he was altogether as curious about -the ge- 
neral expression of his subjects, which he has adorned withi 
firety thing that he thought wotild excite the attention of 
the learned. He left no very large compositions behind 
bim ; and all the reason we can give for it is, that he had 
no opportunity to paint them ; for we cannot imagine that 
it was any thing more than chance, that made him apply 
himself wholly to easel pieces, of a size proper for a biJl>it 
net; such as the curious required of him« , ' 

■ Louis XIII. and de Noyers; minister of stateand super- 
intendant of the buildings, wrote to him. at Rome to oblige 
him to return to France ; to which he consented. with great 
reluctance. He had a pension assigned him, and a lodging 
ready farntsfaed at the Thuilleries. He drew the picture of 
^* The Lord's Supper,'* for the chapel of the castle of< St. 
Germain, and that which is in the Jesuit's noviciate at ^ 
Paris. He began <^ The Labours of Hercules," in the gal- 
lery of the Louvre ; but V6uet's school railing at him -and 
bis works, put him out of. humour With bis own country* 
fie was alse weary of the tumultuous way of living at Paris, 
which never agreed with him. For j these -reasons be se- 
cretly resolved to return to Rome, pretending . he went 
to setde his domestic affairs and fetch his wife ; but when 
be was there, whether he found himself in his proper situa« 
(ion,^ or was quite pot off from any thought of returning to 
FFamce hy the deaths of Richelieu and the king, which 



F O U S S I N. ^ 243 

tiappened about that time, : he : never afterwards leCt Italy. 
Jie continued working on. his easel-pieces, and sent th^m 
from Home t.o Paris ; the French buying theai vpry.eage/ly, 
whenever they could be obtained, and valuing his produc« 
tiaQS; as qauch. as Raphael's. 

r Poussin, having lived happily to his seventy- Rrst yiear, 
died paralytic in I665« He married the sister of Caspar 
Dughet, • by whom he bad no children. His estate, 
^mounted to no more than sixty thousand livrei ; ^ut be. 
K^ued his ease above .riches, and preferred his abode, at 
R<4ll^ wb^re bejived without ambition, to fortune else-' 
where. He never made words about the price of hi^ pic-; 
turea ; but put it down at the back of the canvas,, and it ifas 
always given him.. . He bad no disciple; The fpHaw^n^ 
aa^cdote; much illustrates his character. ' Bishop ManciQi^ 
who was, afterwards a cardinal, staying onc^ o^i a visit ta 
him tilt it was dark, Pqusain ' took the candle in his band,^ 
lighted him down stairs, and patted upon him t^ his coach^ 
Tbe prelate was sorry to see him do it himself, and could 
not help saying, ** I very much pity you, • Monsieur Pons- 
sin, that yon have not one servant.*' . <^ And I pity you^ 
more, my lord," replied Poussin, ** that you have so many/' * 
. POUSSIN (Gaspar), whose proper name wasDUGHET, 
was born,' according to some authors, in France, in 16PQ| 
according to others, at Borne, in 1,6 1 3 ; nearly the same 
flifference has been found in the dates of his death, whici^ 
some place in 1663, and others in 1675. Which may bQ 
right, it is not easy to ascertain ; but the two latter dates 
are adopted by the authors ofabe Dictionnaire Historique* 
His sister being married to Nicholas^Poussin, and settled 
fit Rome, he travelled to that place, partly to visit her, and 
partly from a strong love of painting. Sandr art says, that 
Caspar was employed at first only to ptepare the palette, 
pencils, and colours, for Nicholas ; but, by the instrvictions 
and example of that great master, was so led pn, .that he 
ako obtained a high reputation. While he. remained, at 
Rome, be dropped his own name of Dughet, and assumed 
Itbat of Poussin, from his brother-ra-lavir, und benefactor* 
He is acknowledged to have been one of the best painters 
of .^atadscapes that the world, has seen. No painter ever 
studied nature to better effect, particularly in -expressing 
4he effects of land^storms. His scenes are always beautji* 

., I Ar^enirille, rot. IV.— Pitkmstoo.-:-Rejnoldt*i Works. 



244 P O U S S I NL 

fully chosen, and bid buildings nimpte and elegant. H« 
was not equally skilled in painting figures, and frequently^ 
prevailed on Nicbolas to draw them for bim. The con* 
noisseurs distinguish three different manners in his paint-^ 
ings ; the first is dry ; the second is more simple, yet de-< 
lightful, and natural, approaching more than any other, to the 
style of Claude. His third manner is more vague and unde- 
fined thiin these, but pleasing; though less so by far than the 
Second. His style is considered on the whole by Mr; 
Mason, in his table subjoined to Du Fresnoy, as a mixture 
between those of Nicolo and Claude Lorraine. Mr. Mason 
adopts the date of 1675 for his death.' 

POUSSINES (Peter), in Latin Possmils, a learned Je- 
suit, of Narbonne, in the 1 7th century, resided a consider- 
able time at Rome, where he was much esteemed by Chrfs-* 
dAa, queen of Sweden, cardinal Barberini, ami several 
•ther illustrious persons. He' understood Greek well, had 
very carefully studied the fathers, and has left translations 
of a great number of Greek authors, with notes ^ a. 
•* Catena of the Greek Fathers on Sr. Mark,*' Rome, 1673, 
fol. ; and other works. He died 1686, aged 77.' 
\ POWELL (David), a learned Welsh divine, was born irt 
PenbighshJre, about 1552. In 1568, he wassent to Ox- 
foird^ but to what college is uncerrain. When Jesus-college 
Iras founded, in 1571, he removed thither; and took hi* 
degrees in arts the year following. In 1576, he took orders, 
ind became vicar of Ruabon, or Rhiw-Abon, in Denbigh^ 
shire, and rector of Llanfyllin, which last he resigned in 
1579. About the end of the same year he was instituted 
to the vicarage of Mivod in Montgomeryshire, and in 158S 
he had the sinecure rectory of Llansanfraid, in Mechaifii 
He held also some dignity in the church of St. Asapbi H^ 
proceeded to his degrees in divinity in 1532^ and the sub^ 
i;equent year, and was afterwards chaplain to sir Henr^ 
Sidne}', then president of Wales. He died in 1598, and 
^s buried in his own church of Ruabon. The works* pub* 
lished by him were, 1. <' Caradoc's History of Cam* 
bria, with annotations,*' 1584, 4to. This history had been 
^translated from the Latin, by Humphrey Lloyd, but wa^ 
left by him unfinished at his death. Powel corrected and 
augmented' the manuscript, and published it with notes; 
2^. *< Annotationes in itinerarium Cambriic,. scriptum per 

^ Arg UYitlc, ToL l«^Pakiqgtoii. • Mareri.— Diet Hist. 



/ 



P O W E L I^ 245 

Stiviam QeraMum Catnbrensem," London^ 1585, 3. " Au- 
' notationes in Cambrise descriptionem, per Ger. Cambr/' 
4. f^ I)e Britannica bistoria reqte intelligenda^ epistola ad 
GuL Fleetwooduai civ. Loncl. recordaiorera." This an4 
the former are printed with the aDnotations on the itine^ 
rary.. 5. <' Pontici Virunnii Histpria Britannica/' London^ 
lo85, 8vo. Wood says, that he took great pains in coin^ 
piling a Welsh Dictionary, but died before it was coni7 
pleted. 

He left a very learned son, GAfiRiEL Powell, who wa9 
born -^t Buabon, in 1575, and educated at Jesus college 
Oxford, after which he became master of the free*scboo^ 
at Rutben, in his native county. Not however finding his 
^tuation here convenient for the studies to which he wa^ 
addicted, ecclesiastical history, and the writings of the far 
tbers, he returned to Oxford, and took up his abode in St* 
Mary Hall. Here principally he wrote those works wbicii 
procured him great reputation, especially among the 
puritans. Dr. Vajghau, bishop of London, invited him to 
the metropolis, and made him his domestic chaplain, and 
would have given him higher preferment had he lived. If 
was probably Vaughan's successor who gave him the pre- 
bend of Portpoole, in 1609, and the vicarage of Northall, 
in Middlesex, in 1610. He died in 1611. His works enu* 
merated by Wood are chiefly controversial, against the 
papists, except one or two in defence of the silenced 
puritans. Several of them, being adapted to the circum-; 
stances of the times, went through numerous editions, bu^ 
are now little known. Wood says be was esteemed a pro*? 
digy of learning, though he died when a little more thaq 
thirty years old (thirty-six), and had he lived to a greater 
maturity of years, it is " thought he would have exceeded 
the famous Dr. John Rainolds, or any of the learned heroes 
of the age.'' Wood adds that he ^^ was a zealot, and a stiff 
ptrritan." By one of his works, entitled " The unlawfuU 
ness and danger of Toleration pf divers religions, and con-^ 
nivance to contrary worship in one monarchy or kingdom,'* 
it would appear that he wrote against toleration while h^ 
vras claiming it for himself and his puritan brethren. ^ 

POWELL (Edward), a learned popish divine, was bora 
about the latter part of the sixteenth century, and was edu- 
cated at Oxford. He appears to have been fellow of Orie| 

I Atlu Ox^ vol. I. new edit.<-*-BJpg.^Brit.— Oldyi's Librariaik 



S« POWELL.. 

college in 1495^ and afterwards became D. D. and was 
accounted one of the ornaments of the university. In No- 
vember 1501, he was made rector of Bledon, in the diocese 
of Wells, and in July 1503 was collated to the prebend 
Centum solidorum, in the church of Lincolui as well as to 
the prebend of Carleton, In 1508, by the interest of Ed- 
mund Audley, bishop of Salisbury, he was made preben- 
dary of that, church, and in 1525 became prebendary of 
Sutton in Marisco, in the church of Lincoln. In Novem^ 
ber 1514, Pope Leo gave him a licence to hold three bene7 
fices, otherwise incompatible. His reputation for learning 
induced Henry VIII. to employ him to write against Lu- 
ther, which he did in a work entitled " Propugnaculum 
summi sacerdotii evangelici, ac septenarii sacramentorum 
numeri adversus M. Lutherum, fratrem famosum, et Wick- 
liffistam insignera,'* Lond. 1523, 4to. This performance, 
says iDodd, was commonly allowed to be the best that had 
hitherto been published. There are two public letters from 
the university of Oxford, one to the king, the other to bishop 
Audley, applauding the choice of a person so well quali- 
fied to maintain the cause of the church ; and in these let- 
ters, they style him the glory of their university, and re- 
commend him as a person worthy of the highest preferment: 
But all this could not protect him from the vengeance of 
Henry VIII. when he came to employ his learning and zeal 
in defence of queen Catherine, and the supremacy of the see 
of Rome, on both which articles he was prosecuted, hanged, 
drawn, and quartered" in Smithfield, July 30, 1540, along 
with Dr. Thomas Abel, and Dr. Richard Fetherstone, who 
suffered on the same account. He wrote in defence of 
queen Catherine, " Tractatus de non dissolvendo Henrici 
regis cum Catberina matrimonio ;** but it is doubtful if this 
was printed. Stow, indeed, says it was printed in 4to, and 
that he had seen it, but no copy is now known. Mrj 
Cburton, in his " Lives of the Founders of Brazenose col- 
lege," mentions Dr. Powell's preaching a Latin sermon, in 
a very elegant style, at the visitation of bishop Smyth at 
Lincoln.' 

POWELL (GitiFFiTH), principal of Jesus college, Ox- 
ford, was bom at Lansawell in Carmarthenshire, in 1561, 
and entered a commoner of Jesus college in 1581, and after 
taking his degrees, and obtaining a fellowship, was chosen 

' Ath^ Ox* vol. I. new edtt.-^Dodd's Ch. Hist>-.WiUis*8 Civthedrals. 






P O WE L L. 



247 



9 
if 



principal in 1.613 ; being then, says Wood, ** accounted bj 
aII a most pot^d philosopher, or subtle disputant, and one 
that acted and drudged much as a tutor, moderator and 
adviser in studies among the juniors/' He died June 28, 
1620, and was buried in St. Michaers church. By will he 
\]eft all his estate, a^iounting to betweep six and seven 
handi;ed poqnds, to the college, with which a fellowship was 
founded* He wrote ** Analysis Analy ticorurn posteriorum 
seu librgruoi Aristotelis de Demonstratione, cum scholiis/ 
Oxon. 1594, 8vo, and ^^'Analysis libri Aristotelis de Sophisticis 
Eienchis,". ibid. 1594, reprinted 1598 and 1664. Concern- 
ing these two works, a wit of the day made the following 
liuips : 

*' Griffith PowdU fbr the honour of bis natign. 
Wrote a hook of D^moi^tratioo^. 
And having little else to do. 

He wrote a book of Elenchs too.*' 

There is more wit than truth in this, however, for his 
office as principal engrossed so much of his time, as to pre*- 
Tent him from preparing for. the press other treatises. which 
be bad written.^ . . 

POWELL (Sir John), an eminent lawyer, and an up- 
right judge, wa^ a native of Gloucester, which city he re- 
presented in parliament in 1685. He was called to the 
coif April 24, 1686, appointed a justice of the common 
pleas April 21, 1687, at which time he received the ho- 
nour of knighthood, and was removed to the court of 
king's bench April 26 in the following year. He sat in 
that court at the memorable trial of the severt bishops, and 
having declared against the king's dispensing power, 
James, n. deprived him of his office in July 1688; but 
William III. placed him again in the common pleas, Oct 
2$, l'695, and queen Anne advanced him to the queen's 
bench June IS, 1702, where he sat until his death, at 
Gloucester, on his return from Bath, June 14, 1713, far 
adv?inced in life. He was reckoned a sound lawyer, and 
in private was tq the last a man of a cbeerfuli facetious dis- 
position. Swift^ in one of his letters, mentions his meeting 
with him at Lord Oxford's, and calls hitn ''an old fellow 
with grey hairs, who was the merriest old gentleman I ever 
saw, spoke pleasing things, and chuckled till he crie4 

> Ath. Ox. ToU L 



248 P O WE L L. 

again/' tn fais time the laws against witchcraft being un-* 
repealed, one Jane Wenman was tried before him, and her 
adversaries swore that she could fly : ^^ Prisoner," said our 
judge, " can yob fly ?" ^ Yes, my lord." ** Well thea 
you may ; there is no law against flying." * 

POWELL (WiLLUM Samuel), an English divine of 
good abilities, was born at Colchester j Sept. 27, 1717 ; ad- 
mitted of St. John^s college, Cambridge, in 1734 ; and, hav« 
ing taken the degree of bachelor of arts in 1739, elected 
fellow of it in March 1740. In 1741, be was taken into 
the family of lord Townshend, as private tutor to his second 
son Charles Townshend, afterwards chancellor of the ex« 
chequer ; and was ordained deacon . and priest at the end 
of th§ year, wbeii he was instituted to the rectoiy of Col« 
kirk in Norfolk, on lord Townshend's presentation. He 
returned to college the year after, and began to read lec- 
tures as an assistant to the tutors, Mr. Wrigley and Mr. 
Tunstall ; but becaniie himself principal tutor in 1744. He 
took the degree of bachelor of divinity in 1749, and in 175S 
was instituted to the rectory of Stibbard, in the gift of lord 
Townshend. In 1757 he was created D. D. In 1761 be 
left CQllege, and took a house in London ; but did not re« 
sign his fellowship till 1763. In Jan. 1765, he was elected 
master of his college, and was chosen vice-chancellor of 
the. university in November following. The yeat- tifter, he 
obtained the archdeaconry of Colchester; and, in 1768, 
was instituted to the rectory of Freshwater in the Isle 
of Wight. He died, Jan. 19, 1775, and was interred in the 
chapel of St. John's college. 

The preceding sketch is taken from an advertisemeni 
prefixed to a volume of his *^ Discourses on various sub-^ 
jects," published by his friend Dr. Thomas Balguy ; " which 
Discourses," says the editor, "are not published for the 
credit of the writer, but for the beneflt of his readers; es<f 
pecially that class of readers, for whom they were chiefly 
intended, the youpger students in divinity. The author's 
reputation,^' he adds, ^^ stands on a much wider bottom : a 
whole life uniformly devoted to the interests of sou^d phi« 
losophy and true religion." 

The office of master of the college, says Mr. Cole, be 
maintained with the greatest reputation and honour to him-s 

1 Noble*! ContinnaiioQ of Granger.— lifurnet's Owb Times,*NichoU*a Edition 
uf Swift 2 see ladcx. 



POWELL. 5249 

self; and credit and advantage to the society. Some yearft 
before be attained this office^ a relation with whom he had 
very little acquaintance, and l«$s expectation from, Charles 
Reynolds, of Peldon Hall, esq. left him the estate and ma<*> 
nor of Peldon Hall in Essex, together with other estates at 
Little Bentley in the same county ; and, adds Mr. Cole, to 
-do him justice he well deserved it, for be wa^ both hospi- 
table and generous, and b^ing a single man had ample 
mean^ to exercise his generosity. In Feb. 1773, when St« 
John's college had agreed to undertake two very expensive 
works, the new casing the first court with stone, and laying 
out their gardens under the direction of the celebrated Mr. 
Brown, who told them that his plan would cost them at 
least 800/. the master recommended an application to those 
opulent persons who had formerly been members of the 
college, and told the fellows that if they thought proper 
to make such application, and open a subscription, he would 
begin it with a donation of 500/. which he immediately 
subscribed. On all such occasions, where the honour and 
reputation of his college, or the university, was concerned, 
no one displayed his liberality more in the sumptuousness 
and elegance of his entertainments, but in other cases h6 
was frus^al and ceconomical. 

The late celebrated poet, Mr. Mason, in his life of White- 
head, takes occasion to pay ^ high compliment to Dr. 
Powell on that part of his literary character concerning 
which he may be thought the least liable to be mistaken, 
and pronounces Dr. Powell's taste in works of imagination 
to have been as correct as his judgment was in matters of 
more abstruse speculation. ** Yet this taste," adds Mr. 
Mason, ^< always appeared to be native and his own : he did 
not seem to have brought it with him from a great school^ 
nor to have been taught it by a celebrated master. He 
never dealt in the indiscriminate exclamations of excellent 
and sublime: but if he felt a beauty in an author, was ready 
with a reason why he felt it to be such : a circumstance 
which those persons, who, with myself, attended his lec^ 
tures on the Poetics of Aristotle, will both acknowledge and 
reflect upon with pleasure." 

His published works consist of the volume above men- 
tioned, edited by Dr. Balguy, which contains three dis- 
courses preached before the university ; thirteen preached 
in the college chapel ; one on public virtue \ three charges 



250r P,0 W ELL.: 

to the clergy of the archdeaconry of Colchester; and hk 
^^ Disputatio^': on taking his doctor's degree. One of hv 
discourses,, relatire to subswption, was first preached on. 
commencement. Sunday in 1757; and being reprinted in 
1772, when an application to parliament on the ma^tteir of 
subscription was in agitation, was attempted to be answerf c|, 
probably by the author of the ** Confessional,'' in a paoiphr 
let entitled ** Remarks on the Rev. Dr. Powell's Sermoq, 
&c." but of this we do not know that he took any notici^ 
contenting himself with this reprint of his sermpn, whic^ 
was the fourth edition^ He had spoken his sentiments, and 
had no turn for controversy. He acted the same part in 
his: college; during the controversy in 1772 he called 
all his scholars before him, and submitted to them the real 
state of the case relating to their subscription, and left j^ 
with them. In 1760, Dr. Powell published Observations on 
^^ Miscellanea Analytica," which was the beginning of a 
controversy. that produced many • pamphlets relative to the 
Lucasian professorship of mathematics at Cambridge, when 
Mr. Waring was elected. 

A letter of' Mr. ^arkland's having been published in the 
^* Anecdotes of Bowyer," reflecting on Dr. Powell as if he 
had died rich in consequence, of accumulation, a.nd had 
been saving of bis money to the last, produced a satisfac- 
tory defence of him from a member of St. John's college, 
part of which it is but justice to Dr. Powell's memory to 
copy. '■ ^' It is true," says this writer, *' that Dr. Powell 
died in very.a£9uent circumstances ; but the greatest part 
of his fortune was left to him in 1759 by Mr. Reynolds, a 
relation of his mother, and thfe remainder was the well* 
earned fruits of his labours in educating his pupils while 
tutor, • During the ten years he was roaster, he lived in 
great splendour and magnificence, and had considerably 
diminished his private fortune before his death. When it 
was determined to rebuild the first court, he generously 
made a present of 500/. to the society : to several under^ 
graduates he occasionally gave sums of money, and to 
others he allowed annual stipends to enable them to comr 
plete their studies : at his own expence he bestowed prizes 
upon those wbp distinguished themselves at the public ex- 
aminations. By his will, which had been made a con$i- 
• derable time before his death, he bequeathed lOOO/, to bis 
friend Dr. Balguy ; to six actual fellows, to ten who bad 



P O W N A L L. 251 

Wen fellows, and to four who had only been of the col- 
lege, 100/. each ; and to four fellows his books.'* * ^ 
POWNALL (Thomas), a gentleman of ' considerable 
learning and political knowledge, was born in 17212, and 
educated at Lincoln. His first appearance in public life 
was when appointed secretary to the commissioners for 
irade and plantations in 1745, subjects with which he must 
have made himself early' acquainted, as he had not yet 
TeAched his twenty- fourth year. In 1753 he went to Ame- 
rica, and in the following year was concerned in a matter, 
which eventually proved of great importance. At the be- 
ginning of what has been called the seven years' war with 
France, which commenced in Apnerica in 1754, two years 
before it broke out in Europe, a number of persons, styled 
commissioners, being deputed from each colony, assembled 
at Albany, to consider of defending themselves against the 
French, who were making alarming encroacliments on 
their back settlements. This assembly was called'the Albany 
Congress, and became the precedent for that other more 
remarkable congress established at the revolution in 1775. 
As sbon as the intention of the colonies to hold a congress at 
Albany was known in England, Mr. Pownall immediately 
foresaw the danger to the mother country, if such a general 
tinion should be permitted, and presented a strong memorial 
to lord Halifax, the secretary of state, on the subject, in 1 754. 
The plan which the congress had in view was,' to form a 
great council of deputies from all the colonies, with'a go- 
vernor-general to be appointed by the crown,* and em- 
poweted to take measures for the common safety, and to 
raise money for the execution of theirdestgns. The oiinis- 
«ters at home did not approve of this plan'; 'but, seeing that 
they could not prevent the commissioners meeting, they 
resolved to take advantage of this distress of the colonies^ 
and turn the subject of deliberation to their own account. 
For.this purpose they sent over a proposal, that the con- 
gress should be assisted in their considerations by two of 
the king's council from each colony, be empowered to erect 
forts, tp levy troops, and to draw on the treasury in Lon- 
don for the money wanted ; and the treasury to be reim- 
bursed by a tax on the colonies, to be laid by the British 

parliament ; but this proposal was peremptorily rejected, 

' ' f • ' . • .'.»■' 

' 1 Life by Dr. Balsruy. •—'Cole's MS Atheoar in Xfrituh Museum. — NicUoIn't 
Bo«y£r. — Masoa's Life of Wb'teheaJ, p. 29.->GeaC. Mag. LV.'p. 329. 



252 P O W N ALL. 

because it gave tbe British parliament a power to tax th« 
colonies. Although Mr. Pownall did not agree with the 
ministry in the whole extent of their proposal, yet tbey 
thought him so well acquainted with the affairs of tbe co» 
lonies, that in 1757 they appointed him governor of Mas** 
sachttsett^s bay. 

After two years' residence, some political differences 
with some of the leading men of the province, induced 
him to solicit to be recalled; and in 1759 he succeeded 
Mr. Bernard as governor of New Jersey ; but he retained 
his post a very short time, being almost immediately ap« 
pointed governor, captain-general, and vice-admiral, of 
South Carolina. Here he continued until 1761, when he 
was recalled, at his own desire ; and on .his arrival in Lonr 
don, he was appointed director*general of the office of 
controul, with the rank of colonel in the army, under the 
command of prince Ferdinand, in Germany. At the end 
of tbe. war he returned to' England, where his accounts 
were examined, and passed with honour. 

At the general election, 1768, he was chosen represen- 
tative in parliament for Tregony in Cornwall, and in 1775 
for Minehead in Somersetshire, and on all occasions vigo- 
rously opposed the measures which- led to the war with 
America ; and, from the knowledge which he was supposed 
to have acquired in that country, was listened to with atr 
tention. Of the importance of his speeches he had hioi* 
self a considerable opinion, by his sending them in manu- 
script, to be printed in Almon's Parliamentary Register. 
He is also said to have assisted that bookseller in his '^ Ame- 
rican Remembrancer,'* a periodical paper which contained 
all the calumny, as well as all the arguments, which the 
opponents of the measures of administration could bring 
together. At the general election in 1780 he retired froan 
parliament, and resided, in his latter years, at Batb, where 
he died Feb. 25, 1805, in the 83d year of his age, if our 
date of his birth be correct. 

Governor Pownall was twice married; first, in 1765, to 
lady Fawkener, relict of Sir Everard Fawkener, and daugh-? 
ter of lieutenant-general Churchill, who died in 1777 : and 
secondly, in 1784, to Mrs. Astell, of Everton-house, in 
Bedfordshire ; but bad no issue by either. 

He had a vigorous and comprehensive mind ; which by 4 
liberal education, and constant cultivation during a long 
series of years, was furnished with an uncommon fund of 



P O W N A L L. SSS 

tarious knbwledge, both.as.a politician and antiquary^; but 
not, in both characters, without some singular opinions. 
His works were very numerous. The* first, and most po« 
pular, which went through several editions, was his ^^ Ad-* 
ministration of the Colonies/* 2, Observations on a 
Bread Bill, which be introduced in parliament ; and, 3; 
*^ Of the Laws and Commissions of Sewers ;" both printed^ 
bat not published. 4. An ironical pampbletj entitled 
'^ Considerations on the indignity suffered by the Crown, 
and dishonour brought upon the Nation, by the Marriag6 
of bis Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberkind withaa 
Enlgliiih subject,'* 1772, 4to. 5. A pamphlet on ^^Tha 
btgti price of Bread," &c. 1774, 8vo. 6. "A Topogra- 
phical Description of such parts of North America a» am 
totitaiiied in the annexed map of the middle British Colo<» 
nms, &G. in North America," 1776, folio. 7. ^< A Letter 
to Adam Smith, LL.D. F« R. S." respecting his *^ Wealth 
of Nations," 1776, 4to. 8. f* Drainage and Navigatiort 
but one united work," 1776, Svo; 9, " A Treatise on the 
study of Antiquities," 1782, 8vo. 10. ** A Memorial ad-» 
dress^ to the Sovereigns of America," 1782 *. 1 1. " Two 
Memorials, vyith ian explanatory Preface." 12* " Memo^ 
rial addressed to the Sovereigns of Europe and the Atlan* 
tic," 1783. 13. " Proposal for founding University Frofes* 
sorships for Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture," 1786i 
14. " Answer to a Letter on the Juts& or Viti»'* 15. *< No- 
tice! and Descriptions of Antiquities of the Provincia Ro<^ 
mana of Gaul, now Provence, Languedoc, and Dauphiay : 
with Dissertations on the subjects of which those areexem** 
^ars ; and an Appendix, describing the Roman Baths and 
Thermae, discovered in 1784, at Badeiiweiler," 1787, 4|o, 
16. *^ An Antiquarian Romance, endeavouring to mark a 
line by which the most ancient people, and the processions • 
of the earliest inhabitancy of Europe, may be investigated,^* 
1795, 8vo. 17. *^ Descriptions and Explanations of the 
Remains of some Roman Antiquities dug up in the city of 
Bath in 1790, with an Engraving from Drawings made on 
the spot,'' 1795, 4to. 18. " Considerations on the Scar- 
city and high Prices of Bread Corn," &c. 1796. He contri- 
buted also many papers to the Arohsologia of the Society 
of Antiquaries, of which he was chosen a fellow in 1772. 
He was elected F.R.S. ih 1765. He is also said to faavifi 

«? la a letter to Mr. Nichols he' laysi « This is the best tbtog I erer wrotej' 



/ 

I 



S54 .1^ O W N A L L. 

been the author of "The Right, lotefest, and Doty, of 
Governments, as concerned in the aJStkir of the East Indies/'T 
1781, 8vo. ^^Intellectual Physics, ^n Essay concerning the 
nature of Being," 4to, 1803 ; and a << Treatise an Old Age" 
i' His brother, John PoWnall, was also an, antiquary, 
and contributed a few articles to the Archieologia^ . He died 
July 17, 1795. V , - 

. POYNET, or PONET (Joini),8uciceMively bishop of 
Rochester and Winchester, in the reign of Edward YL 
was born in the county of Kent, about the year 1516, attd 
was educated in King^s college, Cambridge, where^bis 
adversaries allow be w^s .distinguished forbis learning. He 
was not only ' skilled in Greek -and' Latin, but in some of 
^e modern lailguages, particularly balian tod Outoh. In 
early life he proved- himself an' able mathemltt;i<siit;n and 
inechtoist. .He constructed n dock, ivhieh pointed botb 
to the hours of the day, the day Of the month, the sign of 
the.Z^diack, the. lunar raliations^ and .the tides»\ which 
was presented to Henry YUI. ,and .considered by him and 
others as a very .extraordinary perforft^noe. Heylui^. wboi 
is^eldom pajrtial to the early English reformers, teUs us^ 
that he was *' wdWtudied with the ancient fathers-'* 
* / At what time he imbibed the prineiples of the RefcK'ttia* 
tioO is uncertain ; but it ap'pears that be was laccomft^ .a 
champion for thilt great change in the beginning of- the 
reigtt of Edward VI. when te was made bishop ofRp* 
Chester, although only in bis 33d year. He was then 
D. D.' and chapU^in to archbishop Cranmer. When Gar- 
diner was deprived, he was the following year, 1551^ 
translated to Winchester, and was one of the. bishops ap- 
. pointed to make a new code of ecclesiastical law^. • He bad 
fr^uently preached before king Edward ; who, on accottnt of 
his zealous efforts for the reformation, desired that he ifiight 
have the above dignities. He had before this, however, 
some lesser preferment. By Newcourt we.fipd, that Cran- 
mer gave hinii the rectory of St. Michael Queenhithe, Lon- 
don, Nov. 15, 1543, which beheld, in commendt^my until 
May 15, 1551, when he was translated to Winchester. He 
was a frequent preacher, and wrote several treatises in de- 
fence of the Reformation ; but his most remarkable per- 
formance was what is commonly called '^ King Edward's^ 
Catechism,^' which appeared in 1553, in two editions, the 
one Latin, the other English, with the royal privilege. 

p • ... , 

1 Nichols's Bowyer, tq\ Vlll. 



P O Y N E Tv iSS 

Tbat it was not hastily adopted, however, appears by king 
Edward's letter prefixed to it, in which he says : " When 
there was presented unto us, to be perused, a short and 
playne order of Catechisme, written by a certayne godlye 
and learned man : we cooitnitted the debatinge and diligent 
examination thereof to certain; bysboppes and oMier learned 
nien, whose judgment we have in greate estimation." This 
catechism has been attributed to Nowell ; but the late ex- 
cellent biographer of that eminent divine considers it as 
4Hiquestionably Poynet^s, although Nowell took much from 
it into his own catechism. 

i When queen Mary came to the crown, Poynet, wkh 
many others,' retired to Strasburgh, where he died April'} l> 
1556^ not quite forty yestrs of age, Dojtld says het way 
obliged to leav« England for treasonable. practices ; :as -he 
had not only encouraged Wyat's rebellion, but personally 
appeiared in the field against the queen and government. 
This may be true ; but no treason was necessary to render 
England an unsafe place for a man so zealous for the re* 
formation, a professed opponent of Gardiner, and who 
succeeded that tyrannical prelate in the see.of Winchester. 
StYype informs us, tbat immediately on the accession of. 
Mary, bishop Poynet was qjected and imprisoned, and de« 
prived of episcopacy, for being married. He doubts wfae^ 
ther be ever was concerned with Wyat, but says he Was a 
great friend to the learned Ascham. Milner accuses him 
of signing away a great number of the most valuable pos- 
sessions of the see of Winchester. He accuses him also 
of being of an intolerant spirit, and that he persecuted the 
learned physician, Andrew Borde. • Borde, however, wag 
guilty of irregularities, which it was not unbecoming in his 
diocesan to punish. If Poynet was intolerant, what shall 
we say of the favourites of the popish historians ? . ^^ 

Besides the ^^ Catechism" already mentioned,, bishop 
Poynet was the author of: 1. "A Tragedie or Dialoge of 
the unjust usurped primacie of the bishop of Rome,'- trans.- 
lated from Bernard Ochinus," 1 54d, 8vo. 2. '^ A notable 
Sermon concerning the ryght use ^f the Lordes Supper,'* 
&c. preachecl before the king at Westminster," 1550, 8vo. 
When abroad, be wrote, which was published the year 
after his death, a treatise on the same subject, entitled 
** Dialecticon viri boni et literati de veritate, natura, atque 
substantia corporis et sanguinis Christi in Eucharistia ;" in 
wlucb^ Bayle says, be endeavoured, to reconcile the Lu? 



256 P O Y N E T. 

therans and Zuinglians. 3^ "A short Treatise of Poli- 
tique Power, and of the true obedience which subjectes owe 
to kynges and other civile governours, with an exhorta* 
^ion to all true naturail EngUshe men, cooipyled by 
D. I. P. B. R. V.V. ue. Dr. John Poynet, bishop of Ro- 
chester and Winchester/' 1356, 8vo. The contents of 
this may be seen in Oldys's Catalogue of Pamphlets in 
the Harleian Library, No. 409. It was reprinted in 1639 
and 1642 ; which gave a suspicion, that it contained senti<* 
ments respecting queen Mary, which at this time were 
thought applicable to a far milder sovereign. Dr. Poynet 
firrote " A Defence for Marriage of Priests," 1549, 8vo; 
aMi has been thought the author of an answer to the popish 
Dr. Martin on the same subject, entitled ^^ An Apojogie, 
fully aunswering, by Scriptures and anc^ant doctors, a 
blasphemose book, gathered by D. Stephen Gardiner," &c« 
&c. But Wharton, in his observations on Strype's Me- 
morials of Cranmer, assigns very sufficient reasons why it 
^ould not be Poynet's. * . 

POZZO, MODESTA. See FONTE MODERATA. 
. PRATT (Charles, Earl Camden), an eminent English 
lawyer, was the son of sir John Pratt. This sir Jphn Pratt 
^iras a student at Oxford, and fellow of Wadham colleget 
in the hall of which is bis portrait, among other distin- 
guished members and benefactors of the 80ciety« Apply* 
in^ himself to the study of the law, he was called to the 
l)ar about the end of king Charles IL's reign; and, after 
{various gradations in the dignities of bis profession, was in 
1718 constituted lord chief justice of the court of King^s 
Bench. He died in 1724, when the subject of the present 
article was ^a child, one of the sons of bis second wife^ 
Elizabeth Wilson. He was born in 1713; and, after being 
educated in school-learning at Eton, entered of King's 
college, Cambridge, on the election in 172>1, and became 
a fqliow of that society. In 1735 be took the degree of 
B. A. and in 1739 that of M. A. after which he became a 
•member of Lincoln's Inn ; and having regularly gone 
through his law studies, was called to the bar. For many 
years, however, he had so little practice, that at one-time 
he had resolved to relinquish his attendance at Westniin- 
«ter Hall ; but, by degrees he became noticed ; and, ia 

* Godwin de Presul. — Bale. — ^Tanner. — Strype's Life of Cranmer ^oiftm.—' 
G«n. Dict.~Fa11er*s Worthies.— Dodd's Ch. Hist.— Churton's Life of NoweiJ.— 
acilner'a Hist, of Winchester, voL L p. 346. 



PRATT. «7 

1752, we find him supportiog the risphts of juries, in oppo*- 
sition to Mr, Murray, afterwar(}s lord Mansfield, in a case 
of libel, the K.ing v. Oweh, wbeu his client was acquitted. 

In 1754 he was chosen repr/esentative for the borou(^h of 
I>ownton, in Wiltshire; and in 1739, recorder of Bath; 
and the same year was made bis majesty ^s attorney general. 
In Dec. .1761, he was constituted chief justice of the 
court of Common Pleas, and received the honour of 
knighthood ; and in 1762, was called to the degree of ser«- 
jeant-at-Iaw. 

His lordship had the reputation of having presided in 
that court with a dignity, weight, and impartiality, never 
exceeded by any of his predecessors; and when tiie cele- 
brated John Wilkes was seized and committed to the 
Tower, upon a general warrant, bis lordship granted him 
an Habeas Corpus > and when Wilkes was brought before 
the couit of Common Pleas, discharged him from his con- 
finement in the Tower, on May 6, 1763, after stating the 
case, in a speech which did him great honour. His^wise 
and spirited behaviour upon this occasion, and in the con- 
sequent judicial proceedings, between the printers of the 
^ North Briton'* and others concerned in -that publication, 
or in apprehending the authors, was so acceptable to the 
nation, that the lord mayor, aldermen, and common-coun- 
cil of the city of I^ndon, presented him with the freedom 
of their corporation in a gold box, and desired him to sit 
for his picture, which was put up in the Guildhall in 1764, 
with a suitable inscription at tlie bottom of the frame. The 
guild of merchants of the city of Dublin, also voted him 
the freedom of their guild, in a gold box ; the corporation 

8f barber>surgeons of that city voted him his freedom 
hereof; and the sheriffs and commons of Dublin presented 
him their thanks '^ for the distinguished zeal and loyalty 
which he has shewn in asserting and maintaining the rights 
and liberties of the subject,' in the high station whicji he 
now fills, with remarkable dignity ; and for his particular 
services to this kingdom, in the office of attorney^general.^ 
Other towns sent him testimonies of their regard, and his 
popularity was now at its height. In 1765 he was created 
a peer of Great Britain by the title of lord Camden, barost 
Camden in the county of Kent; and on July 30, 1766, his 
majesty, upon the resignation of lord Northington, deli-^ 
vered the great seal to bis lordship, as lord high chancellor 
of Great Britaius It was the Rockingham admipistratioii 
Vol. XXV. . S 



a5t PRATT. 

who promoted his lordshjp^s advancement to the peefag^'^; 
but they did not thereby obtain his entire support in par* 
liament; for when the declaratory bill, asserting the right 
of parliament to make laws, binding the colonies in all cases 
whatever, was brought into the House of Lords, he opposed 
it with the greatest vigour. Lord Camden, whatever might 
be thought of his opinions, was uniformly independent, 
ahd incurred a portion of popular odium for supporting 
she suspension of the law, in order to prevent the exporta* 
lion of corn at a time when scarcity was impending. On^ 
this occasion he happened to make a sarcastic reply to lord 
Temple, which drew upon him the wrath of Junius ; but 
for this he had as little regard as for the more sober in- 
vectives of party. As a lord chancellor, he appears to 
have conciliated the good opinion of all parties. His acute- 
uess and judgment, and the perspicuity with which he de- 
livered his opinions, and his general politeness, mixed 
with a becoming regard to the dignity of his office, at! 
produced the highest respect and confidence in his deci- 
sions. But as he still adhered to his opinion against the 
taxation of the Americans, which he strongly and publicly 
opposed on every occasion, he was removed from his high 
pfficeinl770. 

In March 1782, on an entire change of men and measures, 
in consequence of the failure of the American war, he was 
appointed president of the council, which, with the excep- 
tion of a short secession during the coalitioo-aidministra- 
;ion, he held through life, and gave his support to the 
inieasures by which Mr. Pitt provided for the safety of the 
country, when the French revolution had let loose the dis- 
grganizing principles of bad men of all nations. In May 
1786, lord Camden was advanced to the farther dignities 
pf viscount Bayham and earl Camden, and lived to enjoy 
bis well-earned honours to his death, April 1 8, 1 794. High 
as his lordship's character stood with the public, it was not 
superior to the esteem which his private virtues univer- 
sally procured. In his relative duties he was affectionate, 
benevolent, and cheerful. His mind and manners threw 
an amiable colouring over every action. A pamphlet has 
been attributed to him, entitled ** An Inquiry into the 
nature and effect of the writ of Habeas Corpus^ the great 
bulwark of English liberty, both at common law, and un- 
der the act of parliament : and also into the propriety of 
explaining and extending that aqt," Lond. 1758> 8vo. 



PRATT. 259 

Another is mentioned by Mr. Park^ which can scarcely be 
called bis^ although relating to him ; " Lord Camden's 
argument in Doe, on the demise of Hindson, &ic. versus 
Kersey ; wherein Lord Mansfield's argument in Wyndham 
versus Chetwynd, is considered and answered." This is 
said to have been first printied in 4to, at London, and sup- 
pressed by an order of the court of ComaK>n Pleas, over 
which lord Camden at that time presided. It was, how- 
ever, published at Dublin in 1766, 8vo. 

His lordship married Elizabeth, daughter, and at length 
sole heiress, of Nicholas Jeffreys, esq.* of the Priory in 
Breconshire, by whom he had a numerous issue. He was 
succeeded in titles and estate by his son John Jeffreys^ 
the present earl Camden. ' 

PRATT (Samuel Jackson), a poet and miscellaneous 
writer, is said to have been born of a good family, at St. 
Ives, in Huntingdonshire, Dec. 25, 1749. He was edu* 
cated at Felstead, in Essex, and was originally brought up 
to the church. This, however, he appears to have quitted 
for' the stage, which he attempted in London, in 1774,. 
with very little' success. After his failure in this attempt, 
he subsisted chiefly by writing. He also was for some time 
a bookseller at Bath, where, and at other places, he oc- 
casionally delivered lectures on the English language. For 
many years after his appearance on the stage, he assumed 
the name of Courtney Melmoth, which likewise is prefixed to 
most of his publicatiotis. As an author, he was very prolific. 
The first of his productions which attracted the notice of the 
public, was ^.'The Tears of Genius, occasioned by the Death 
of Dr. Goldsmith, 1774,*' whose poetical works he endea- 
voured^ and not always unsuccessfully, to make the model of 
his own. His poem of ^' Sympathy^* was perhaps his best, and 
has passed through many editions, and is characterized by 
feeling, energy, and beauty. His first novel, entitled 
** Liberal Opinions upon Animals, Man, and Providence," 
1775, &c. was published in detached volumes, which were 
eagerly perused as they successively appeared. His *<Shen- 
stoniB Green," « Emma Corbett," " The Pupil of Plea- 
sure, or the New System (Lord Chesterfield's) illustrated," 
had likewise a temporary popiUarity. His other novel of 
any note was entitled "Family Secrets," 1797, 5 vols. 

1 Cdlliiit'i Peerage, by sir £. Brydget.— Harwood's Alumni Etbueoser.-^ 
Fark's edition of ih% Royal and Noble Authocs.— Almoa's Anecdotes^ vol. I. . 

^2 



no PRATT. 

l2mo, but bad not the success of the former. His dra- 
matic productions were, a tragedy, " The Fair Circassian/* 
taken from Hawkesworth^s ^' Almoran and {laroet/' which 
required all the support of himself and friends^ in tha 
newspapers, to render it palatable for a few nights. His 
other dramatic pieces, enumerated in the Biog. Dram. 
T/ere so little successful as to be soon forgot. 

Other works by Mr. Pratt, not noticed in the above ac- 
count, are : " The Sublime and Beautiful of Scripture. 
Being Essays on select Passages of Sacred Compositions,** 

1777. " An Apology for the Life and Writings of Ps^vid 
Hume,'' 1777. " Travels of the Heart, written in France,'* 

1778, 2 vols. "Observations on Young's Night Thoughts,'* 
9vo. " Landscapes in Verse, taken in Spring," 1785. 
^^Miscellanies," 1786, 4 vols, which included tbQ most 
popular of the preceding pieces* " Triumph of Benevo- 
lence," a poem, occasioned by the design of erecting Sk 
Monument to Mr. Howard. '^ Humanity, or the Rights o£ 
Nature," a poem, 1788. " An Ode on bis Majesty's Re- 
covery." " A Letter to the Tars of Old England," and 
"A Letter to the British Soldiers," 1797. " John and 
Dame ; or, The Loyal Cottagers," a ppem, 1803. " Har- 
vest Home, consisting of Supplementary Gleanings, Ori- 
ginal Dramas and Poems, Contributions of Literary Friends^ 
und Select Republications, including Sympathy, a poem, 
revised, corrected, and enlarged, from the eighth edition,'* 
1805, 3 vols. 8vo. **The Cabinet of Poetry, containing 
the best entire pieces which are to be found in the ^yorks 
of the British Poets, from Milton to Beattie. The Works 
gf each Poet prefaced by an Account of his Life and Cha- 
racter, by Mr. Pratt j" 6 vols. 1808. "The Contrast, a 
Poem, including Comparative Views of Britain, Spain, and 
France," 1808. "The Lower World, a poem, in four 
books, with notes," 1810. " A Descriptiou of ly-eqming- 
ton Spa," a retreat of Mr. Pratt's, &c. To these we may 
fidd his "Gleanings," or Travels Abroad and in England, 
in which there is some amusement, but so much mixture 
of fiction, that very little reliance can be placed on them 
for matters of fact. Mr. Pratt died Oct. 4, 1814,^ at bis 
apartments in Colmore-row, Birmingham. Hq was un- 
questionably a man of genius, and a selection might be 
made from bis works which would establish his reputation 
9LS a poet ; but his necessities seldom gave him time to po- 
}is.h and correct, and his vanity prompted hioi so often to' 



PRATT. tSI 

become his bwil revietrei* aud his own panegyrisl, that fot 
tdtile yedrs before bis death he sunk in respect with thfe 
}>ublici There are no marks of learning in any of his J>er- 
fortxHirices ; ahd from the time he devoted himself to repre- 
sent fictiori on the stage^ his general conduct was that of i 
Id&n playing a part, or led through the adventures of a 
floVel; It was to his praise, however, that in his lattet* 
d^ys bis works contained a more pure morality than some 
be bad published at ah earlier period of his life. ' 

PRAXITELES, st most celebrated Grecian sculptor, 
flourished, according to Pliny, in the I04tb olympiad, 
that is, about 364 years before the Christian aera. He 
worked chiefly in Parian marble, to which he seemed to 
convey not only expression but animation. He was much 
attached to the beautiful Phryne, to whom he promised to 
give the very finest of his works, if she would select it. 
Not trusting to her own judgment irt this itiatter, she con- 
trived a stratagem, as Pausanias relates, to discover which 
he most esteemed. She ran to him in a pretended alarm, 
Exclaiming that his workshop was on fire, when he imme- 
diately cried out, ** If my Satyr and Cupid are not saved, 
I am rained." Having thus learned his private thoughts, 
she took advantage of them in making her choice. His lovd 
for Phryne led him also to preserve her beauties by his art; 
tod her statue, carved by him, stood afterwards in the tem-^ 
pie at Delphi, between those of Archidamus king of Sparta, 
and Philip of Macedon. Grace and beauty prevailed in 
ei'ery work of Praxiteles ; and his statue of Venus clothed, 
#hich was bought by the inhabitants of Coos, was only sur- 
passed by a naked figure of the same goddess, which wasi 
obtained by the Cnidians. It is uncertain whether ainy 
work of Praxiteles remains ; but an antique Cupid, for- 
iMerly possessed by Isabella d^Este, of the ducal family of 
Mantu^, was supposed to have been the production of his 
art.* 

' PREMONTVAL (Peter le Gnat/ de), of the acaderhy 
6f sciences at Berlin, was born at Charenton Feb. 16, 1716. 
His attachment to the mathematics was so strong, that he 
opened a school at Paris, in 1740, where he taught them 
gratuitously, and formed several excellent scholars, hut 
^ bis temper was acrimonious and haughty, which created 

1 Gent. Mrff. vol. LXXXIV. — Biog. tram. — toiirtgesr's Common Place Book, 
vol. m. 9 HayJey*s Essay on Sculpture. \ 



262 P R E M O N T V A L, 

bim so many enemies, that he quitted France for Bftle^ 
where he staid a year or two; and having wandered for some 
time in various cities of Qermany, he iinally settled at 
Berlin ; where, though he did not escape quarrels, he was 
altogether successful, and became ^n author. He died at 
Berlin in 1767, at the age of fifty -one. His works : are 
neither nqiperous nor very valuable. The best is, 1. His 
f ^ Pr^servatifs contre la corruption de la langue Frangoise en 
Allemagne.'' He wrote also, 2. '^ La Monogamie, ou 
Punit^ en Mariage,'* 1751, 3 vols. 8vo ; a work of learning, 
but whimsical and tiresome. 3. " Le Diogene die I'Alem- 
hert ;" not so singular as the preceding, but not better 
written, with some tendency to modern sophistry. 4. Se? 
veral memoirs in the volumes of the academy at Berliti. 
He appears to have been in a great degree unsettled in hi^ 
religious opinions ; jnclining at times tp Socinianism, and 
the doctrines of fortuitous creation ; at others producing 
strong suggestions in favour of religion.' 

PRESTET (John,) a priest of the oratory, son of a 
Serjeant at Cb&Ions-sur-Saone, was born in 1648. He went 
to Paris early in life, and, having finished his studies there, 
entered into the service of father Malebranche, who, 
finding he had a genius for the sciences, taught him mathe- 
matics, in which the young pupil ipiade so rapid a progress, 
that, at the age of seventeen be published the first editiou 
of his '^ E16mens de Math^matique?.^' ^n the. same year, 
1675, he entered the pongregation of the oratory, audi 
taught mathematics with distinguished reputation, particur. 
larly at Angers. He died June 8, 1690, at Mechlin. The 
best edition of his " Elements," is that of 1689, 2 vols, 
4to. They contain many curious problems.'. 

PRESTRE. SeeVAUBAN. 

PSESTON (John), a celebrated divine in the beginning 
of the seventeenth century, descended from the Prestons, 
of Preston in Lancashire, was born at Heyford, in Norths 
^mptonshir^, in Oct. 1 587. Au uncle on the mother's side^ 
who resided at Northampton, undertook the care of his 
education, and placed him at first at the free-school of that 
town, and afterwards under s^ Mr. Guest, an able. Greek 
scholar, who resided in Bedfordshire. With him be. re- 
Qiained until 1584, when he was admitted of King's col"^ 

' Diet. Hist.*.— Necrologe desJiommes Celebres, pour ann^e 1770. 
' Diet. HisU— Moreri. 



P R E S TO N. «69 

lege, Cambridge. Here be appUled to wbafc bis biographer 
tells 119 was at tbat time the genius of the college, viz. 
musiq, studied its. theory, and practised on the lute ; but 
thinking this a waste of time, he would have applied him- 
self to matters of more importance, .could he have remained 
here, . but as not coming from Eton school, he could not be 
upon the foundation. Being therefore incapable of prefer- 
ment, he removed to Queen^s college, and by the instruc- 
tions of Oliver Bowles, an able tutor, be soon became dis- 
tinguished for his proficiency, especially in the philosophy 
of Aristotle, and took his degrees with uncommon reputa- 
tion. Bowles leaving college for a living, his next tutor wa/» 
Dr. Porter, who, astonished at his talents, recommended him 
to the notice of the master. Dr. Tyndal^ dean of Ely, by 
whose influence he was chosen fellow in 1609. Thin he 
appears to have thought rather convenient than honourable,, 
for at this time his mind was much set on public life, and 
on rising at court. He continued, however, to pursue his 
studies, to which he now added that of o^edicine ; and, 
although he did this probably without any vi^w to it as a 
profession, we are told that when any of his pupils were 
ai<:k, he sometimes took the liberty to alter the physicians* 
prescriptions. Botany and astronomy, or rather astrology, 
also engrossed some part of bis attention. But from all 
these pursuits he was at once diverted by a seroion preached 
at St. Mary's by Mr. Cotton,. .which made such an.impresr 
sion on him, that be immediately resolved on the study of 
divinity, and began, as was then usual, by. perusing the 
9choolmen. '< There was nothing,'Vsays bis biographer, 
^' that ever Scotus or Occam wrote, but he had weighed 
and examined; he delighted. much to read them in the first; 
and oldest editions that could be got* I have still a Scotu^ 
ip a very old print, and a paper not inferior to parchment^ 
that baith his hand and notes upon it throughout ; yet be 
<:ontinued longer in Aquinas ; whose sums he would some- 
times -read as the barber cut his hair, and when it fell upon 
the place he read, he would not lay down his book, but 
blow it off.'* 

While thus employed,. ki,ng James paid a visit to Cam- 
bridge, and Dr. Harsnet, the vice-chancellor, ^^ knowing 
well the critical and able apprehension of his majesty,'' se*? 
lected the ablest in every faculty to dispute, which was 
then a mode of entertaining royal visitors. Preston he se- 
ttled tQ answer in the philosophy act, and there wa> a tiijne 



264t PRESTO N. 

when be would have been proud of the honour ; but his 
thoughts were now so much fixed on divinity, that the apr 
plause of kings and courts had no longer any charms. In 
the mean time a dispute arose about the place of answereTy 
which terminated in Mr. Preston's being appointed ^rs/ op* 
penenU The account of this dispute, as given by Prestoa's 
biographer, is so curious an illustration of the academical 
customs, of the time, that we are persuaded no apology can 
be necessary for giving it in his own words. It exhibits 
king James also in one of his favourite characters. 

** His (Mr. Preston's) great and first care was to bring his 
argument unto a head, without affronts or interruptions 
irofu the an^werer^ and so made all bis major propositions 
plausible and firm, that bis adversary might neither be will- 
ing nor able to enter there, and the minor still was backed 
by other syllogisms, and so the argument went on unto the 
issue : which fell out well for master Preston ; for in dis- 
putations of consequence, the answerers are many times so 
fearful of the event, that they slur and trouble the opponents 
all they can, hnd deny things evident, which had been the 
case in all the former acts ; there was such wrangling about 
their syllogisms, that sullied and clouded the debates ex- 
tre^iely, and put the king's aetsmen into straits ; but whea 
master Preston still cleared his way, and nothing was de- 
nied, but what was ready to be proved, the king was greatly 
satisfied, and gave good heed, which he might well do, be- 
cause the question was tempered and fitted unto his con- 
tent; namely. Whether dogs could make s^fUogisms ? 

*^ The opponent urged, that they could ; an Eathymeme 
(said he) is a lawful and real syllogism, but dogs can make 
them ; be instanced in an hound who had the major pro- 
position in his mind, namely, * the hare is gone either tfaas 
or that way ;' smells out the minor with his nose, namely, 
' she is not gone that way,' and follows the conclusion, 
^ Ergo, this way with open mouth.' The instance suited 
Ae auditory, and was applauded ; and put the answermr to 
his distinctions, that dogs might bare- sagacity but not sa- 
piencej in things especially of prey, and that did concern 
their belly, might be nasutidi, but not hgici; had much 
in their mouths, little in their minds, unless it had relation 
to their mouths ; that their lips were larger than their 
understandings: which the opponent, still endeavouring to 
wipe off with another syllogism, and put the dogs upon a 
fresh scent, the moderator, Dr. Reade, began to be a^raidy 



PRESTON. 2es 

and to think bow trooblesome a pack of hounds, well fol- 
lowed and applauded, at last might prove, and so came to 
the answerer^s aid, and told the opponent that his dogs, he 
did believe, were very weary, and desired him to take* 
them off, and start some other argument ; and when the 
opponent would not yield, but halloed still and put them on, 
be interposed his authority, and silenced him. The king 
in bis conceit was all the while upon Newmarket heath, 
and liked tbe sport, and therefore stands up, and tells the 
moderator plainly he was not satisfied in all tb&t bad been 
answered, but did believe an bound bad more in him than 
waa imagined. I bad myself (said he) a dog, that strag- 
gling far from all his fellows, had light upon a very fresh 
scent^ but considering he was all alone, and had none to 
second and assist him in it, observes the place, and goes 
away unto his fellows, and by such yelling arguments as 
they best understand, prevailed with a party of them to ga 
along wftb bim, and bringing them unto the place, pur- 
sued it into an open view. Now the king desired for to 
know how this could be contrived and carried on witbodt 
the use and exercise of underststnding, or what the mode-- 
rator could have done in that case better ; and desired him 
that either he would think better of his dogs, or not so 
highly of himself. 

" The opponent also desired leave to pursue the king*s 
game,^ which he bad started, unto an issue ; but the an- 
swerer protested tbat his majesty*s dogs were Always to be 
excepted, who bunted not by common law, but by prero- 
gative. And the moderator, fearing the king might let loose 
another of his hounds, and make more work, applies him- 
self with all submisse devotion to the king, acknowledged 
his dogs were able to out-do him, and besought his ma- 
jesty for to believe they bad the better : That he would 
consider bow bis illustrious influence had already ripened 
and concocted all their arguments and understandings; 
tbat whereas in the morning the reverend and grave di- 
vines could not make syllogisms, the lawyers could not, 
nor tbe physicians ; now every dog could, especially his 
migesty's.'* 

Mr. Preston's part in this singular disputation might 
have led to favour at court, if he had been desirous of it ; 
and sir Fulk Greville, afterwards lord Brook, was so pleased 
with his performance that he settled 50/. perann, upon 
him, and was his friend ever after ; but he was now seri- 



S66 PRESTON. 

ously intent on the office of a preacher of the gospel, and 
having studied Calvin, and adopted his religious opinions, 
be became suspected of puritanism, which was then much 
discouraged at court. In the mean time bis reputation for 
learning induced mauy persons of eminence to place their 
sons under his tuition ; and Fuller telU us, he was '' the 
greatest pupil-monger ever known in England, having six- 
teen fellow-commons admitted into Queen's college in one 
year,'' while he continued himself so assiduous in his 
studies as considerably to impair his health. When, it 
came to his turn to be dean and catechistof his college, be 
began such 9, course of divinity-lectures as might direct the 
juniors in that study; and these being of the popular kind, 
were so much frequented, not only by the members of 
other colleges, but by the townsmen, that a complaint was 
at length made to ^e vice-chancellor, and an order given 
that no townsmen or scholars of other colleges should be 
permitted to attend. His character for puritantsm seems 
now to have been generally established, and he was 
btought into trouble by preaching at St. Botolph's church, 
although prohibited by Dr. Newcomb, commissary to the 
chancellor of Ely, who informed the bishop and the king, 
then at Newmarket, of this irregularity. On the part of 
Newcomb, this appears to have been the consequence of 
a private pique; but whatever might be his motive, the 
matter qame to be heard at court, and the issue was, that 
Mr. Preston was desired to give his sentiments on the Iit 
turgy at St. Botolph's church by way of riecantation. He 
accordingly handled the subject in such a manner as 
cleared himself from any suspicion of disliking the forms of 
the liturgy, and soon ^fter it came to bis turn to preach 
before the king when at Hinchingbrook. The court that 
day, a Tuesday, was very thin, the prince and the duke 
of Buckingham b^ing both absent. After dinner, which 
Mr. Preston had the honour of partaking at his majesty's 
table, he was so much complimented by the king, that 
when he retired, the marquis of Hamilton recommended 
him to his majesty to be one of his chaplains, as a man 
^* who had substance and matter in him." The king aspv 
sented to this, but remembering his late conduct at Cam- 
bridge, declined giving him the appointment. 

Such, however, was Mr. Preston's weight at this time 
that it was recommended to the duke of Buckingham by 
all me^iQs to patronize him, and thus, do an act highly 



PRESTON. 267 

Mceptable to the puritans who might prove his grace's 
friends, in case his other friends should fait. The duke 
accordingly applied in his behalf to the king, who still de- 
murred, but at last fancied that his favours to Preston 
might have a different* effect from what the duke medi- 
tated. The duke wished to court him, as the head of a 
party ; the king thought that by giving him preferment, 
he should detach him from that party. In this conflict of 
motives, it occurred to some of Mr. Preston's friends that 
it would be preferable to appoint him chaplain to the 
prince ^(afterwards Charles I.), who now was grown up and 
bad a household. Sir Ralph Freeman, a relation of Mr. 
Preston's, suggested this to the duke, who immediately 
sent for the latter, and receiving him with such a serious 
air as he thought would be acceptable, told him that the 
•prince and himself having the misfortune to be absent 
when he preached, i/^ould be obliged to him for a topy of 
his sermon, and entreated him to believe that he would be 
always ready to serve him to the best and utmost of his 
power. The sermon was accordingly written out in a fair 
hand, and presented, and the preacher havings been intro- 
duced to the prince, was formally admitted one of his six 
chaplains in ordinary. 

< About the time that Mr. Preston was thus honoured. Or. 
Dunn, the preacher of Lincoln's-inn, died, and the place 
was offered to our author, and accepted by him, -as he 
pould now ^^ have an opportunity of exercising his ministry 
to a considerable and intelligent congregation, where; he 
was assured, many parliament men, and others of his best 
acquaintance, would be his hearers, and where in term-time 
be should be well accommodated." His usual popularity 
followed him here, yet he was not so much reconciled to 
the situation as he would have been to a similar one at 
Cambridge. There he would have students for his hearers 
who would propagate the gospel, which he thought the 
lawyers were not likely to do; and his Cambridge friends 
seemed to be 6f the same opinion, and wished him again 
among them. To promote this object, some of the fellow^ 
of Emanuel college endeavoured to prevail upon their 
master. Dr. Chaderton, who was old, and ** had outlived 
many of those great relations which he had before,^' to 
resign, in which case they hoped to procure Mr. Prestori 
to succeed him, who was ** a good man, and yet a cour- 
|.ier| the prince's chaplain, and very gracious with the 



268 PRESTON. 

duke of fiackingbam.'* Tvro obstacles presented them- 
selves to this design ; the one Dr. Chaderton's unwilling- 
ness to be laid aside without some provision for bis old 
age ; and the second^ their diread lest some person might 
procure a mandate to succeed who was disagreeable to 
them^ and might be injurious to the interests of the col- 
lege that had flourished tinder Dr. Cbaderton's manage- 
ment. This last apprehension they represented to him in 
such a manner that, after some hesitation, he entered 
into their views^ and desired that Mr. Preston biight em- 
ploy his interest wi^ his court-friends to prevent any ' 
mandate being granted, and likewise to secure some pro- 
Tision for himself. Accordingly by a letter from the duke 
of Buckingham addressed to Dr« Chaderton, dated Sept. 
20, 1622, we find that both these objects were attained, 
and Mr. Preston admitted master of Emanuel before the 
news bad transpired of bis predecessor's resignation. 
When his proniotion became known, it affected the two 
parties into which the kingdom was then divided according 
to their different views. The puritans were glad that 
^' honest men were not abhorred as they bad been at court,'^ 
and the courtiers thought him now in a fair way of being 
their own. All considered him as a rising man, and re- 
spected btm accordingly,' and the benchers of Lincoln's- 
Inn, whose preacher he still continued, took some credit 
to themseWes lor having been the first who eit pressed their 
good opinion of him^ Such indeed was his consequence, 
that even the college statmes, which seemed an insupera- 
ble objection to bis holding both places^ were so inter- 
preted by the fellows as to admit of bis repairing to Lon- 
don at the usual periods. He now took his degree of D. D^ 
The object Of the courtiers, we have already observed^ 
was to detach Dr. Preston from the purittins, of which he 
was considered as the head. They were therefore much 
alarmed on hearing that be bad been offered the lecture- 
ship of Trinity-church Cambridge, which was in future to 
be dreaded as the head-quarters of puritanism. So much 
was it an object to prevent this, that the matter was seri- 
ously debated not only by the duke of Buckingham, but 
by the king hims^^lf ; but here again their private views 
clashed. The duke, although he endeavoured to dissuade 
Dr. Preston from accepting this lectureship, and offered 
him^ the bishopric of Gloucester, then vacant, in its stead, 
would not otherwise exert himself against the doctor, . 



PRESTON. ?j6? 

bbcaute be would not lose hioi ; while the king^ having no 
other object than wholly to detach him from the puritans, 
sent bis secretary to inform him that if he would give up 
this lecturesl^ip, any preferment whatever was at his ser-* 
vice. Dr. Preston, ||iowever, whose object, as his biogfa« 
pher says, ^' was to do good, and not to get good,'* per- 
sisted, and was appointed lecturer, and the king could not 
conceal his displeasure that Buckingham still sided with 
him. 

I)r. Preston happened to be at Theobalds, in attendance 
sfs chaplain, when king. James died, and on this inelancboly 
occasion had many interviews both with the duke of Buck- 
ingham, and the prince; and as soon as the event was an* 
Dounced, went to London in the same coach ^ith his new 
sovereign and the duke, and appeared to be in high favour ; 
but the duke was ultimately disappointed in his hopes of 
support from Dr. Preston and his friends. In a public con- 
ference Dr. Preston disputed against the Arminian doctrines 
in a manner too decided to be mistaken ; and when on this 
account be found his influence at court abate, he repaired 
to his college, u^til Qnding bis end approaching, he re- 
moved to Preston, near Hey ford in bi^ native county, 
where he died in July 1628, in the forty- first year of his 
age. His remain^ were deposited in Fausley church. 
Fuller, whp has classed him ?tmong tl^e learned writers of 
Clueen's college, says, ^^ he, was all judgment and gravity, 
and the perfect master of his passions, an excellent preacher, 
a celebrated dispjjts^nt, and a perfect politician.'' Ecb^rd 
styles him <' the most celebrated of the puritans," and 
copies the latter part of what Fuller had said. He wrote 
various pious tracts, all of which, with his Sermoi^s, were 
published after his death. The uipst noted of these works 
i^ his ** Treatise on the Covenant," 1629, 4to.* 

PRESTON (Thomas), an English dramatic writer, who 
6ourished in the earlier part of queen Elizabeth's reign, 
was first M. A. and fellow of King's college, Cambridge, 
and afterwards created a doctor of civil law, and master of 
Trinity-hall in the same university, over which be preside4 
about fourteen years, and died in 1598. In 1564, when 
qu^en Eiis^abeth was entertained at Cambridge, tins gen- 
Ueppan acted so admirably well in the Latin tragedy of 

1 Ciark'i JLW«8. — Neal'n Puritans. — Fulier't Worthies.— -Burnet's Own 
Times. 



iio P R E S t O N. 

Dido, composed by John Ritwise, one of the fellows qt 
King's college, and disputed so agreeably before her ma-' 
jesty, that as a testimonial of her approbation, she be- 
stowed a pension of twenty pounds per annum upon him ; 
nor was she less pleased with him on hearing his disputa* 
tions with Mr. Cartwright, and called him *' her scholar,'* 
and gare him her hand to kiss. The circumstance of the 
pension Mr. Steevens supposes to have been ridiculed by 
Sfaakspeare in the " Midsummer Night's Dream," at the 
conclusion of act the fourth. On the 6th of Sept. 1566, 
when the Oxonian Muses, in their turn, were honoured 
with a visit from their royal mistress, Preston, with eight 
more Cantabrigians, were incorporated masters of arts in 
the university of Oxford. Mr. Preston wrote one dramatic 
piece, in the old metre, entitled " A Lamentable Tragedy 
full of pleasant Mirth, conteyning the Life of Cambises 
King of Percia, from the beginning of his Kingdome unto 
his Death, his one good Deed of Execution after the many 
wicked Deeds and tyrannous Murders committed by and 
through him, and last of all, his odious Death by God's 
Justice appointed, doon on such Order as foUowetb.'* 
This performance Langbaine informs us, Shakspeare meant 
to ridicule, when, in his play of Henry IV. part i. act 2. 
he makes FalstafF talk of speaking '* in king Cambyses' 
vein." In proof of which conjecture, he has given his 
readers as a quotation from the beginning of the play, a 
speech of king Cambyses himself.^ 

PREVOT d'Exiles (Antony Francis), was born at 
Hesdin, a small town in the province of Artois, in 1697. 
He studied with the Jesuits, but soon relinquished that 
society for the army, into which he entered as a volunteer, 
but being disappointed in his views of promotion, he re- 
turned to the Jesuits. Still, however, bis attachment to 
the military service seems to have been predominant ; for 
he soon left the college again, and a second time be- 
came a soldier. As an officer he acquired distinction, and 
some years passed away in the bustle and dissipation of & 
military life. At length, the unhappy consequence of an 
amour induced him to return to France^ and seek retire* 
ment among the Benedictines of St. Maur, in the monas* 
tery of St. Germain des Pres, where he continued a few 

* Biog. Dram. -^Har wood's Alumni Etonenses.-^Peck^s D^iderata.^-Coote's 
Catalogue of CiviliaDs, p. 59.— Fuller's Hist, of Cambrislge. 



p ft E V d r. 271 

years. Study, and a monastic life, could not, hovrever, 
entirely subdue bis passions. Recollection of former plea- 
sures probably inspired a desire again to enjoy them in 
tbe world. He took occasion, from a triHing disagreement, 
to leaVe tbe monastery, to break his vows, and renounce 
his habit. Having retired to Holland in 1729, besought 
resources in his talents, with success. In the monastery 
at St. Germain, he had written tbe two first parts of his 
** Memoires d'un Homme de Quality.** The work was soon 
finished, and, when it was published, contributed no less 
to his emolument than his reputation. A connexion which 
he had formed at tbe Hague with an agreeable woman, 
and which was thought to have exceeded tbe boundaries 
of friendship, furnished a subject of pleasantry to the abbiS 
Lenglet, the Zoilus of his time. In his journal entitled 
** Pour & Contre," Prevot thus obviates the censure : 
** This Medoro," says he, speaking of himself, ** so fa- 
voured by the fair, is a man of thirty-seven or thirty-eight 
years, who bears in his countenance and in his humour the 
traces of his former chagrin ; who passes whole weeks 
without going out of his closet, and who every day em- 
ploys seven or eight hours in study ; who seldom seeks oc- 
casions for enjoyment, who ev6n rejects those that are 
offered, and prefers an bourns conversation with a sensible 
friend, to all those amusements which are called pleasures 
of the world, and agreeable recreation. He is, indeed, 
civil, in consequence of a good education, but little ad- 
dicted to gallantry ; of a mild but melancholy temper ; in 
fine, sober, and regular in his conduct.*' 

Whether tbe accusations of his enemies were true or 
not, there were reasons which obliged him to pass over 
into England at the end of 1733, and the lady followed 
him. There, according to Palissot, he wrote the first vo- 
lumes of " Cleveland." Tbe first part of his " Pour & 
Contre," was published this year, a journal which brought 
down upon him the resentment of many authors whose 
works be had censured. His faults were canvassed, and 
perhaps exaggerated; all his adventures were brought 
to the public view, and related, probably, not without much 
misrepresentation. His works, however, having established 
his reputation, procured him protectors in France. He 
solicited and obtained permission to return. Returning to 
Paris in the autumn of 1734, he assumed the habit of an 
abb^. I^alissot dates this period as the epoch in which his 



272 P R E V O T. 

literary .fame commenced; but it is certain^ that three of 
bis most popular romances had been published before that 
time. He now lived in tranquillity under the protectibn 
of the prince of Conti, who gave him the title of his 
almoner and secretary, with an establishment that enabled 
him to pursue his studies. By the desire of chancellor 
d^Aguesseau, be undertook a general history of voyages, 
pf which the first volume appeared in 1745. The success 
9f his works, the favour of the gi^eat, the subsiding of the 
passions, a calm retreat^ and literary leisure, seemed to 
promise a serene and peaceful old age. But a dreadful 
accident put an epd to this tranquillity, and the fair pro- 
spect which had opened before him was closed by the hand 
of death, ^o pass the evening of his days in peace, and 
to finish in retirement three great works which he had un- 
dertaken, he hud chosen and prepared an agreeable recess 
at Firmin near Chantilly. Qn the 23d of Nov. 1763, he 
was discovered by some peasants in an apoplectic fit, in 
the forest of Chantilly. A magistrate was csdied in, who 
unfortunately ordered a surgeon immediately to open the 
body, which was apparently dead. A loud shriek from the 
victim of this culpable precipitation, convinced the spec- 
tators of their error- The instrument was withdrawn, but 
uot before it had touched the vital parts. The unfortunate 
abb6 opened his eyes, and expired. 

The following are the works of the abb6 Prev6t : I. " Me- 
moires d'un Homme de Qualit^j^ qui s^est retir6 du monde,'' 
Q vols. 12mo. This romance has been translated into 
English in 2 vols. 12mo, and in 3 vols. 12mo,. under the 
title of the ^* Memoirs of the marquis de Bretagne ;'' to 
which is added, another romance of Prevot's. See art^ 3. 
J5. " Histoire de M. Cleveland, fils naturel de Cromwell,'* 
1732, 6 vols. 12mo; an English translation al>o, 5 vols. 
12mo. 3. ^^ Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, & de Ma* 
non Lescaut,'' 1733, 12mo. An English translation of this 
romance has been published separately, and is also affixed 
to the translation of art. 1 . in 3 vols. 4. " Pour & Centre,** 
a literary journal, 1733, and continued in the following 
years, 20 vols. 12mo. 5. ^^ The first volume of a transla* 
tion of Thuanus," 1733, 4tp. 6. " A translation of Dry- 
den's play. All for Love,** 1735. 7. •* Le Doyen de KiU 
lerine," 1735, 6 vols. 12mo, translated into English, 3 vols, 
12mo, under the title of " The Dean of Coleraine.** 8. 
** History of Margaret of Anjou,". 1740, 2 vols, 12mo^ 



PREiVOT. 273 

translated idlo Engfiah^.S Voluhies iSmo. 9. ** Histdim 
d'uoe Griecqu^ ModemfiyV 174I» 2Lval8..12ino9 trandated 
into Englisb, I vot.:i2mo. 10. ^^ Campagties Philosophi- 
ques^ ou Meriioires d^ M* de Montcaloi/* 1741, 2 vols. 
*12it)o, part history, aod part fiodon. 11. '^ Memoires pour 
3ecvir a Histoire de Makbe/' 1742, 12nio. 12. ^< Histoire 
.de Guillaume le. Conquerant Roi d^Angleterre," 1742, 
12010. 13. " Voyages du Captaine R. Lade," 1744, 2 vols. 
J2mo. 14. ^^ A translation of Cicero's Letters to Brutns,^' 
with notes,. 17;44, l2mo', and a translation of his Familiar 
Letters, 1746, ,5i vols. 12aio^ 15. <VA translation of Mid^ 
dleton's Life i>f Cicero,'' 1743, ,4vol& 12mo. 16. " Me- 
moires d'no honnete homme,*' 17451 17. ^< Histoife ge^ 
ttecale des Voyages," 1745, &o. 16 vols. 4to, and 64 vols. 
<I2aio. La Harpe has abridged this compilation in 2 1 vols. 
Jivo} he has also, added. Cook's Vojrages. 18. A Die- 
tionary of the Frendh language, 17dl, ^vo, and a new 
iedition, 2 vols. 8vo. 19 and 20. ^^ Clarissa Harlowe," 
1751, 12 parts; and, ^' Sir Charles Grandison," Sparts, 
1755 ; both translated froin Richardson. . 21. ^^ Le Monde 
Moral,", i 760, 4 vols. ISmo. 22. ** A tratislation of Hume's 
history of.the .Stuarts^" :1760, 3 Vols. 4to, and 6 vols. 12mQ. 
23. "Mfemoires pour servir a la Histoire de la Verto,'* 
1762,4 vols. 12iiiOy translated from the English. 24. 
^.Aimoran and Hamet," translated fronir Hawkesivortir^ 
1762, 2 vols. 12mo.r " And,^5. A posthuoiouis translation 
£kom the English, entitled ^^ Letters de Mentor, a une 
Jeune Seigneur,' ■ il 7^4,. 12010.^ 

PRICE (John), in Lathi Pricau&j a learned writei^ 
arigioaUy.of a WeUh family^ was bom in 1600;a^ London. 
He:, was brought up at Westoainster-school, whence ia 
1617 he wasdlepted to Christ^churcb, Oxford. He mad^ 
great proficiency in learning,* and was esteemed^ one of the 
ableist critiea a^ his day, but espoused the Roman catholic 
religton which €or some time he appears to have concealed;. 
On leaving eoUege^be was enter,tained in the £arl of Arun- 
del's family,; with* whiich he travelled into Italy, and there 
was made doctor 4)fl laws^ On his return to England, he 
became acquainted with the earl of Strafford, who being 
pleased with his talents and learning, took him with him to 
Ireland, where be likewise became acquainted with arch^ 
tbisbop Usher, and was one of his correspondents, their 

1 NecTologle d^ Hommes Celebres pour aonee 1764.'^P(ct. Hist 

Vol. XXV. T 



274 PRICE, 

biblical studies forming a bond of onion. When his noble 
patron was prosecuted, J)r. Price shared in his misfortuDett^ 
and returned to England in 1640. During the rebellion 
be endeavoured to support the royal cause by his pen, and 
wrote several pamphlets, for which he was imprisoned for 
a considerable time. After his release he went abroad, and 
took up his residence in Florence, where the grand duke 
jnade him superintendant of his museum^ which was then 
one of the finest in Europe. By the interest of this prince^ 
he was appointed Greek professor at Pisa, and filled that 
office with great reputation. Besigning it, however, pro- 
bably owing to bad health, he went to Venice, with a view 
to publish Hesychius*s Lexicon, but not succeeding in the 
design, he went to Rome, and was entertained by cardinal 
Francis Barberini. When advanced in years, he retired to 
St. Augustine^s convent at Rome, where he died in 1676, 
aged seventy-six. His works are : 1. '^ Notse et observa*- 
tidnes in apologiam L. Apuleii Madaurensis, philosopU 
Platoniciy*' Paris, 1635, 4to. These are to be f4>uiid in 
the Gouda edition of Apuleius, 1650, 8vo, but the original 
is very scarce. . 2. *^ Matthsus, ex sacra pagina, Sanctis 
patribus, &c. illustratus,'' Paris, 1646, 8vo. 3. *^ Anno- 
tationes in epist. Jacobi,'' Paris, 1646, 8vo. 4. '^Acta 
Apostolorum, ex sacra pagina, Sanctis patribus, &c. illus- 
trata," Paris, 1647, Svo. 5. ** Index Scriptorum, qui in 
Hesychii Graeco vocabulario laudantur,. confectus.et alpha- 
betico ordine dispositus,'' 1668. See Schrevdius's Lexicon 
at the end. 6. *^ Comment, in varios Novi Test, libros,'* 
inserted in the 5th vol. of the '* Critici Sacri.'^ Dr. Price is 
praised by Sarravius, in his letters ; by archbishop Usher 
.on St. Ignatius's epistles; by Heinsius, in an epistle to 
Carlo Dati; by Leiden more than once, in the aecond 
book ^^ de Synedriis Ebrseorum ;'' by Vossius, in his << Har- 
mon ia Evangelica ;'' by Moras, in hb liotes oa the 'New 
Testament ; by Redi, in his treatise on the Generation of 
Insects ; but especially by Axenius on Pheedrus. ^ . 

PRICE (RiCHARD)9^an eminent (Assenting minister and 
political writer, was born Feb. .23, 1723, at Tynton, in 
the parish of Langeinor, in Glamorganshire. His father, 
iwho was many years minister of a dissenting congregatioo 
at Bridgend in the same county, intended him for trade, 

I Ath. Ox. vol. II.— Geo. Diet — Dodd'f Qh. Hist. toU lU.— Uihw'i Ljf* ani 
U\XM, p. 5Q6, 595, 59G. 



P R I C E. 275 

b«t gave him a good education, in the course of which, 
kewever, he became dissatisfied with bis son's departure 
from bis own views of religion, which were Calvinistic. He 
died in 1739, while his son was a scholar at a seminpy at 
Talgavtb, and a scholar of more than ordinary thinking. 
In 1740 we are told. that be first engaged in studying But- 
ler's '^ Analogy,'' a work which never erased to be the sub- 
ject of his praise and admiration. In his eighteenth year, 
by the advice of his paternal uncle, the rev, Samuel Price, 
vAko officiated as co-pastor with the celebrated Dr. Watts, 
be was removed to a dissenting academy in London, 
founded. by Mr. Coward, and of which Mr. Eames was at 
that time the principal tutor, where he devoted his whole 
time with ^^ardour and delight" as be used to^ say, to the 
study of mathematics, philosophy, and theology. On 
completing his course of education, he was removed, by 
the recommendation of his uncle^ to Stoke Newington, and 
resided there fornear thirteen years, in the family of a Mr. 
Sireatiield, as his chaplain and companion. 

While in this place, he occasioniiliy officiated in different 
congregations, particularly at Dr. Chandler's meeting- 
house in the Old Jewry, where he seemed to acquire con- 
siderahlov popularity; but Dr. Chandler having advised 
him to be less energetic in bis manner, and to deliver his 
discourses with more diffidence and modesty, Mr. Price 
ran into the opposite extreme of a cold and lifeless delivery, 
which naturally injured his popularity. During the latter 
end of his residence at Mr. Streatfield's, he officiated prin- 
cipally at £dmonton, till he was chosen to be morning 
preacher at Newington Green. By the death of Mr. Streat- 
£eld>.and also of his. uncle, which happened in^ 1756, his cir- 
cumstances were considerably improved; the former having 
.bequeathed him a legacy in money, and the latter a house 
•in Leadenhall-street, and some other property, but not so 
much ajs it was supposed h^ would have left him, if he had 
not offended him, as he had done his father, by the freedom 
of bis sentiments on certain religious doctrines, particularly 
that of the Trinity. In 1757 he married Miss Sarah Blun- 
<dejl, and in 1758 removed to Newington Green, in order to 
be near his congregation. Previous tq his leaving Hackney 
.he published his *< Review of the principal questions and 
difficulties in Mixrals," of which he revised a third edition 
(0r the press in 1787. This gave him considerable reputa« 
;lipn as a mejtapbysiciaa. 

T 2 ^ 



n^ E R I iC E.: 

During t|ie:.€i«t -years .of bis Iresideiice aA Nefrifigtoaf 
Green, he devoted binEi^etf aknost wholly to the eompontiott 
of sermons, apd to his pastoral duties ; but in .1762, as hia 
bearers were few, he was: induced, £1*0111 the .hope of being 
more extensively useful, to accept ao invitation to saoeeed 
Dr. Benson*^ as evening preacher in Poor Jewry 4aiie* 
Even bere> however, he acquired lio additional number of 
hearers, which discouraged him. so niucfa^. tJikat he had de- 
termined to give up preaching altogether, from an idea 
that his. talents were totally .unfit £ar the offioeof. a public 
speaker. .Regarding, himself thereSore, aa incapable ■of 
giving effect to bis moral infatrncdous by deliveriog ^em 
from the pulpit, he consoled himself with the hope of fen4> 
dering them «usefal.to the wcorld by coaveyiog them in ano^ 
ther manner. With this view he formed the sermons whidl 
be bad preached on private prayer into a dissertation 00 
that subject^ which he pi^bliabed in.17.67, ailong viih tiivee 
other *^ Dissertatioiis,^ on providence,, mirades^ labd the 
junction of virtuous men ki afutiniestate. . These. dissert 
tations procured him the lacquaiotance of the. iirst;marquis 
of LansdovHie, then eatl of Sbelburne, which beg«ui- ift 
17611^, and contiiiued for some time before Mr«. iPrice had 
iever written on political subjlects ; but was probably more 
firmly estabUsfaed in consequence of those publications^ . 
Having .officiated near foiirteen years -at Newnigtoft 
Green without kay hope of ever: becoming, ektensively 
useful in that situation, be was the more easily induced to 
acce[it an invitdtiob to succeed Mr. Law, as morwiog 
preacher at the Gravel-Pit meeting-house in Hackney, but 
^consented to officiate as afternoon preacher at Newingtop 
Green, and in consequence resigned that service at. Booir 
Jewry ^lane. Although his audience at Hackney^ waa nroch 
more numerous than in eitfayer of the above places, yet 
during the first four or five years q£ bis miuistry, it in* 
creased very slowly ; " and," says bis biographer, ••^ -it- is 
probable that neither the excellence of his di^courses^ nor 
the impressive manner in which ihey were delivered, would 
have made any great addition to bis hearers,- had not other 
causes of a very different nature concurred to render him 
popular." 

Mr. Price hacf hitherto confined his studies almost exclo* 
sively to moral and religious subjects, and had long const** 
dered his profession as excluding him from taking any part 
in the temporal affairs of this world ; but (tpm this opinion 



PRICK. 277 

km tiowrbegan. gnidtMilty to depart^ aiidofirit'beBtow<0d. t 
•bare of hi^ attebtioh on philosop^ical'stodies^ which pro^ 
duced many, valuable- paperg insertad in the^^vpfailosopfaioal 
Trahaaedons^ of the Royal Society of LondooH^ of: which fa^ 
had been ohosen a fellow in 1165. So imeat^was hisniind 
in oae of bn:ioTe8tigation8, that we are told|, the colour of 
his .faair^ whicH was nkturaldy blade, became ctuinged in 
different.pairts of his bead into spots of perfect white. In 
1769 he pabUehed his valuable ^^ Treatise on Reyerstonary 
Payments/' wbicb contained^ among vl varidty of olbet 
matters^ tbesolation of many quest'ioas in the doctrine of 
annuities ;. schemes for establishing societies for the benefit 
6f i|ige and. widows! on jost principles; ahd am exposure of 
the inadequacy of the societies of this 'kind -which Were 
caotinoaUy .forining in Loiidon and otbep pans of the kitig* 
dom. , Altogether this was perhaps his most usefdl perform* 
ance. About the end of 1769^, the univepsity of Glasgow^ 
conferred on him the degree of doctor of' divinity^ i without 
any: solicitation or knowledge on his own part, >but, as his 
biogcaph^ candidly acknowledges, in consequence of th^ 
appJicatioa of some erf bis clerical friends inf London, who 
paid the usual fees, and left.him to suppo^*tha(t the honour 
was entirely gratuitous* ' 

This work was followed in 1772 by his ^^ Appeal to the 
public on the National Debt,^^ the principal object of ^ 
wbicb was to restore the sinking fund which had been ex- 
tinguished in 1733:; and although the proposition then met 
with much opposition^ una have lived to see it adopted-by 
parliament, and become one of the chief bulwarks^ of our 
pabliq credit.. We have also lived to see thst^the vieiy be 
took of public affairs,^ and his dread of a lessened popular 
tion,: which he represented in the mos£ gloomy colours^ 
were not founded on facts^rnor<haTe bee^ confirmed by ex* 
perlehce. The ^^mov opinions, > with others of a more ge- 
neral kind, led' bias td oppdse the measures which ended 
io a war with Ameirica. ^ Ivk 1775 he published <^ CM>sefva<^ 
tioixs 'oti dvil Libortyiand thc^ Justice and Policy of the 
War .with 'America,^* wbieb^ was followed, in the same spi^ 
idt^ in 1777, byanotber pamphlet entitled << Observations 
osi the Nature of Civil Government." The principles of 
botbtheke works encountered' a- variety of opinions, being 
both extvavagantly praised and censored : by some esteemed 
widiout faolt;- while by others; they ar& deemed vitsionary > 
diimerical, mischievous io their theory, and tendif\g 



'278 PRICE 

in their effect to the unhingiDg of all governmeht Thai 
their influence was very great, cannot be denied ; but that 
their author was firmly persuaded of their usefulness, seeing 
to be generally believed by those who have had the best 
opportunities of knowing his sentiments. For writing this 
last pamphlet, he bad the honour to receive the thanks of 
the Court of common-rcouncil the 14th of March, 1776, a^ 
having laid down those principles upon which alone the su«- 
preme legislative authority of Great Britain over her Colo- 
nies could be justly or beneficially maintained; and ^ for 
holding forth those public objects without which it must be 
to'tally indifferent to the kingdom who were in or who were 
out of power. At the same time he also received a gold 
box of the value of fifty pounds. 

With these two pamphlets he had determined to take no 
further part in the political contentions of that period ; but, 
bis biographer observes, he certainly mistook the disposi* 
tion of his own mind. Whenever therefore government 
appointed a fast, he considered it more as a political than 
. a religious ordinance, and always took an opportunity 
on that day, to deliver his sentiments on the conduct of 
the war, and on the evil consequences which were likely to 
result from it. This insured him at least one overflowing 
congregation in the year, for curiosity brought foes as well 
as friends to hear him on such occasions. But of all those 
discourses, he only published two which he delivered on 
the fast days in 1779 and 1781. So many exertions in be-? 
half of America procured him an invitation from the con- 
gress to ^^ come and reside among a people who knew how^ 
to appreciate his talents,'^ but this he thought proper to 
decline. In 1779 he published an ^* Essay on the popula- 
^ion of England,'* which, being founded on incorrect in- 
formation, was in proportion incorrect in its conclusions. 

But finances and politics were not the only subjects 
which at this period engaged Dr. Price's time and atten- 
tion. In consequence of ' Dr. Priestley's disquisitions on 
matter and spirit, which had been just published, he was 
led to make some observations on those parts which did 
not accord with his own sentiments. This produced an 
amicable correspondence between them, published under 
the title of " A free discussion of the Doctrines of Mate- 
rialism and Philosophical Necessity." About the same 
4 time he addressed some important observations to the 
<' Society for Equitable Assurances/' in an introduction: to 




PRICE. 97» 

«^ork.by his nephew, Mr. Morgan, on '^Tbe Doctrine of 
Aaoodties." The value of his and his nephew's services to 
that.society is universally acknowledged. 
. WbeQ, after the war ended, lord Shelburne came into 
admioistaration, in consequence of the death of the marquis^ 
of Rockioghain, his lordship very, gravely offered Dr. Price 
the place of private secretary; but, his biographer adds,. 
<^ his lordship surely could not be in earnest in making 
8,uch an offer. It was no doubt meant as a compliment^, 
and the simplicity of Dr. Price considered it in that light| 
though, as a friend observed, the minister might, a^ well 
have proposed to make him master of the horse.'* , During 
the time, however, that lord Shelburne was in office, he 
sought the assistance of Dr. Price in forming a scheme for 
paying off the national debt, and moved an introductory 
resolution on that subject in the House of Lords ; but, upoa 
his leaving administration, the scheme was abandoned. It 
was, however, communicated to the public by Dr Price in 
a treatise, entitled <* The State of the public Debts and 
Finances, at signing the preliminary Articles of Peace in 
January 1783 ; with a plan for raising Money by public 
Loans, and for redeeming the public Debts.'' After tbis^ 
when Mr. Pitt determined to introduce a bill into parlia- 
ment for liquidating the national debt, he applied to Dr. 
Price for his advice on the subject, and received from him 
three separate plans ; one of which now forms the founda- 
tion of that act for reducing the public debt, which was 
established in 1786, and has contributed, more than any 
other, or all other measures, to raise the credit of his ad- 
ministration. The friends of Dr. Price, however, offer 
two objections on this subject ; the one that the plan Mr. 
Pitt adopted was the least efficient of the three ; the other, 
that he did not publicly acknowledge his obligations to Dr. 
Price. 

In 1784 Dr, Price published ^^Observations on the Im- 
portance of the American Resolution, and the Means of 
inaking it useful to the World;" to which are added a 
letter from M. Turgot, and the last will of M. Fortune 
!Ricard, which exhibits an amusing, and rather humorous 
application of Dr. Price's account of tbje powers of com- 
pound interest, and the uses to which it may be applied 
for the benefit of mankind. In 1786 he published a vo- 
lume of sermons, partly on practical, and partly on doc- 
^inal subjects : iu the latter he states, and defends with 



280 P R I e.E/ 



aiMmation and eeStl, the Arian bypokberisy to wKick^ li# 
biaiself ivas attach^d^ against Tiinttanans'OQtbef'oiie faodd^ 
and modern Unitarians on the other. He always £elt falirty 
we are told, at the conduct of Dr. Priestley and Mr.. Liad- 
•ay^ in assuming to themselves and their sect exciustrelyy 
the appellatidn of. UnitarumSj which • belongs equally to 
J^ws and Mabomietansy and in treating with so 'much con-« 
tlimely the opinions of those who differed from them. As 
to 'ttie practical sermons in this volume, they wei« T&ty 
generally approved. The subjects are, die security and bap* 
pines^ of a virtuous coarse, the goodness of Gody and the 
Resurrection of Lazarus. 

' The other publications of Dr. Prioe^ which chiefly at^ 
tiracted notice^ were, a Sermon on ^' The Evidence of a 
future period of Improvement in the State of Mankind^ 
#itb the means and duty of prompting it, delivered to thd 
supporters of the new Academical Institution among Protes-* 
tant Dissenters,^' in 1787 ; and' his /<< Dfsoburse on the 
Love of our Country,'' preached the' 4tb of Novenfbery 
1789, before the society for commemorating the revolution 
6f 1688 in Great Britain. In this last discourse Dr. Price 
displayed his accustomed zeal for the great prificiples of 
civil and religious liberty } and towards the concludon of it^ 
be adverted with triumph to the revolution in France^ 
which be thought the4)eginning of a new s&ra of happiness 
to the world. How much he was deceived in this, need 
not be told ; nor the consequence of bis sermon, in pro^^ 
ducing the memorable controversy in which" M¥. Burke took 
the lead *. - 

Dr. Price was now drawing haHtity to bis end. He had in 
17{)6 lost bis lady, and in February 1791 be Was seiaed 
with a fevier, the effects of a severe' cold, caught white 
attending the funeral of a friend; from tlie^effecti^ of idiis 
be was gradually recovering, whei^ be was attacked with a 

* To read any of the iDvectiyet presses himself io terns of oontempt 

against Mr. ^urke, one woidd suppose in regard to the French revolution j 

he was the only human behif who ' and after a!^iilg rather too severely 

look^ witli an evil eye on the f revcli wbat good vjis to be. eapeeM from a 

Kevolution. But Dr. Price's biogra- nation of atheists, be -conclude with 

pber has fonnd aooCher amdng Br. foretelling the destroetion of 'a million 

Price's intimate correspondents, and of human beings as a probable oon^ 

no less a personage ttian John Ac^ms, sequence of it. Such a letter, in out 

the. late Amcfictfn apbaisador. In opinion, oatweighs'an hundred of those 

a long letter Mift^fa he witote to Dr. which Dr. Price' received 'at 'this time 

Price at fhi&tins^ a» Ut from congra- from his «i/tg4iA«i^ friends' io Ftnooe* 
tulatinghioi'dttktiie occasion, he ex- 



I 
. I 

I 



P R I C E. .t«l 

9e9er^ ^vA yety pwifiil disorder, . by wbi&h; he' bad been 
]D«Qy y«a» tbr^f^le^ed. Ifbis be .bore with f<)rtitud<f md 
r«jBijgn|ttiioi|/ ibouigh .QCcasiooaUy Ms .apirits and stiehgth 
w^re .entirely- ejLhainpted by tb^ ngoqiea wbtah be endured. 
He died oq the aineteeDtb of Marcb^ 17 9 1; ia the l^i^ty** 
eighth y$i^ of bUk%set and wa^ interred im . B^llhiU^ fields 
burying^groundy the fuoetal being ftiU^wed by a^ great 
pp^cpurise i^ hto. fciendd and adOGtirers, to whoim/ he bad 
Img been endeared by. /hi$ priva^ie as well as public: c^arac^ 
ter. • Jfi^ Qkai¥>ersi wersei pilQidiarly amiable, and whoever 
was M«aittedtOthis{$4Hiv^9alionj or even peiHiaed. his work9| 
fM>uld not avoid hQirtg:.9tr.iiu;k' by contrasting, hie mitd and 
placid, teoqper wiitb:thati of iuhmo of khe cootrovefsi^ wi^iters 
iritb'Wbom he. gjen^r^ily corop^rated. . He waa for manjr 
years one of the ti^u^teea v» the es4;ates of the* l^e Or. 
Daniel WilUaoBA^r whach' is the ralost important concern be- 
longing; to the Xondoja Dissenters^ During the applida<* 
^OBs <>f the dis^entiag.nuuistier^ to parliament, from 1773 
to 1779, for relief from subscription to the articles of;the 
«h)icch 9^ England, required by. the act of Toleration, he 
WM cboseo one of tb^ conupittee appoint^ to concert and 
pursue. the necessary ( measures for obtaining that object^ 
but wkiep he fonnd tb^M could not be obtained withouLa 
decoration, of faith. in. th^ Holy 3criptqres, wbich he con<4 
tended. the. Qivi) raa^tratje had no right. to demand, he 
divide with a small Qiinority of .bis. brethren against the 
rest pf/tb^ fx^inniittee, i^i^ng an enlargement of religious 
liberty on. terms whi^by ^cording to their views of things^ 
and according, to tb0 trut^^prinpiples. of di^ent, implied 
•nhmiesieatotithe anth<Nrity of the civil magistrate in mat*, 
tersf of iotiscienoe, to wbpm^ in n^jatters of this kind, they 
^^ed 1^ obedienQe whatetver. In 1783 the degree of LL. IX 
m0M oOnferred upon him by Yale college, in Connecttcvt^ 
Md he waa afterwards eleoted a fellow, of tbe American 
Philoaopfaical SoQieties .a)t Philadelphia aohl Boston* la 
17869 ivhen.si new academical institution among the disf 
jsentecs wa9 established at Hackney, Dr. Price was apv 
pointed tutor in the higher branches. of the m^heniatics ; 
but soon foundhiikiself incapable of attending to the dntiet 
of ilbi9 office, and therefore resigned it the second year. 
He approved the pian, however^ and^ says bis biographer, 
^^ from tbe circumstance of bb having bequeathed a small 
legacy towards its scipport, died inconscious of tbe igno^ 
ranee and folly which were accelerating its destruction,"^^* 



2B% PRICE. 

Among Dr. Price's numerous correspondents were, the 
marquis of Lansdowne, the earls Chatham and Stanhope ; 
the bishops of Carlisle, St. Asaph, and LlandafF; Mr. Harris, 
the author of Philosophical Arrangements, &c. ; Mr. How* 
ard, Dr. Franklin, the duke de Koehefoucault, the ceie«> 
brated Turgot, and several of the most distinguished mem- 
bers of the first national assembly* 

The value of the political and religious works of Dr* 
Price, says our predecessor in this work, men will estimate 
differently, as they happen to be infected or not by thtfM 
principles, which, by exaggerating the true and excellent 
doctrines of liberty, have proved^ in the present age, ther 
bane of Christianity, and the scourge of human nature. Thai 
he was sincere and well-intentioned in bis adoption and 
recommendation of them, there is not any reason to doubt; 
As a calculator on political questions, when he did not 
take up his data from partial documents, which flattered 
his preconceived opinions, he was acute, jMrolbund, an4 
able.' 

PRICE (Robert), an eminent lawyer and judge,- was the 
fton of Thomas Price, esq. of Geeler in Denbighshire, and 
born in the parish of Kerigy Dniidion, Jan. 14, 1653. After 
an education at the grammar-school of Wrexham, he was 
admitted of St. John^s college, Cambridge ; but, as usual 
with gentlemen destined for his profession, left the uni-^ 
versity without taking a degree, and entered himself a 
student of Lincoln's Inn about 1673. In 1677 be made 
what was called the grand tour, in company with the earl 
of Lexington, and lady and sir John Meers. When at 
Florence, we are told that he was apprehended, and some 
law-books taken from him; and his copy of Coke upon 
Littleton'' being supposed, by some ignorant officer, to be 
an English heretical Bible, Mr. Price was carried before 
the pope ; where he not only satisfied his holiness as to this 
work, but made him a present of it, and the pope ordered 
it to be deposited in the Vatican library. In 1679 he re- 
turned, and married a lady of fortune ; from whom, after 
some years' cohabitation, he found it necessary to be se* 
parated, on account of the violence of her temper. In 
1682 he was chosen member of parliament for Weobly in 
Herefordshire, and gave his vote against the bill of exdu- 

1 Principally from "MemMrs of bi« Life^» by Waiiam Morgan, F.R.S 
1815, 8vo. 



PRICE. 383 

Bion. The same year he was made attoniey-general for 
South Wa1^» elected an alderman for the city of. Here- 
ford) and the year following was chosen recorder of Rad- 
jaor. His high reputation for knowledge and integrity 
procured him the <^ffice of steward to the queen dowager 
(relict of Charles. II.) in 1684; he was also chosen towo« 
clerk of the city of Gloucester; and, in 1686, king^s 
counsel at Ludlow. Being supposed to have a leaning 
towards the exiled family, he was, after the revolution,^ 
removed from, the offices of attorney*general for South 
Wales and town*clerk of Gloucester. In resentment for 
this affront, as his biographer insinuates, or from a more 
patriotic motive, he opposed king William's grant of certain 
lands in Wales to his favourite, earl of Portland, and made 
^ memorable speech on .this occasion in the House of Com-^ 
mons ; the consequence ' of wbidh was, that the grant was 
rejected. 

(Although it might have been expected that king WiU 
Ham would have, in his turn, resented this conduct o£ 
Mr. Price, yet he appears not only to have acquiesced in 
the decision of parliament, but knowing Mr. Priced abi.-' 
lities as a lawyer, made him, in 1700, a judge of Breck- 
nock circuit After sitting in parliament for Weobly from 
1682 to 1702, he resigned his seat in favour of his son 
Thomas, and was made seijeant-at-law, and one of ^ the 
barons of the excbequef. In this character he distinguished 
hinoself in the memorable case of the Coventry election, in 
1706, defending the conduct of the magistrates who had 
called in the aid of the military, not to influence the elec- 
tion, but to suppress a riot whinhi tended to destroy its 
freedom. In 1710, as his fortune wsi^ considerably in- 
creased by his preferment, he built an alms-house at 
the place of ixis birth for six poor people, and amply en- 
dowed it. 

. On the accession of George I. in 1714^, the baron wa^ 
continued in his office, although not employed in the judi- 
cial proceedings against the rebels in 1716. On the me* 
morable quarril between the king and. the prince of Wales 
(aflterwards George II.) which led to a question respecting 
tlie care and education of the prince's.children, Mr. baron 
Price and Mr. justice Eyre had the courage to maintain s^n 
opinion contrary tathat of the king. As he advanced in life, 
he procured an exchange of his seat on the Exchequer 
bench for one in the Common Pleas, the duties of which, 



Mi PRICE. 

be was told,- would be easier. This- was effected in 17136 ; 
but the < consequences were t&e reverse of wbat he ex- 
pected ; for ills reputation bron^t s6 oia-ny suitors intp' cfae 
Cominon Pleas, that be had inore business than ever, lie 
continued, . however, to . perform his duties with unremit-f 
ting assiduity, and with gcdEU; rfeput^ion^ until his death, 
at Kensington, Jan. 2, 17^*2, in: the 7^ih. year of bis- age; 
His remains were interred ^' Weobly cborbb^ in Heteford-* 
shire. He bore iJ)e reputation of a neiah of veiy coiisider^^ 
able abilities, and inflexibleio^grity ; ^andy as af)peara by 
the few circumstances we have related, Was 'Certainly v^oiail 
of independetit.spirit and coumge.^ . , ,. 

FRIDEAUX (Humphr'ey)^ a learned ,£nglisli' dirinei 
was born ^at Padstow, in Cornwall^ May's, 1^4dV He was 
the son of Edmund Prideaux, esq. of an ancient; and bow 
Boa^able family in ;that ooutity^ and w^ eqcmlly wellde^ 
scended by his mother, the daughter of John Moyloy esq; 
of Bake, in Cornwali Afkear some etoinentary' education 
at Liskard^ and 'Bodmin, 'he was placed ^nder Dr^ Busby, 
at Westminster-school, and in 1648 admillted a siudebt of 
Christ Cburch, Oxford, by dean Fell. Hie attainments 
bere must have distinguished biih: v^vy early? for. wefind 
that in 1672^ when be took bis bachelor^ degree^ -Dr. Veil 
employed him to add some notes: to an editicinV of wFldrus, 
tben printing at the university press : aad.'soon. after, be 
was- requested to be the editor -of Mal^ela, a Greek histo- 
riany from a M S. in ^ ^be Bodleian- library 4 but halving re- 
presented this as a.:work. not wortfi' the printing, b^ng 
fabulous and triiSing,' the desigii.<waa laid aside^ until Dr. 
Hody, who was of a difllrent Opinion^ undertook th4 task. 
Mr. Prkleaux^ about die same time,, was^ edbployed'in 
giving a-hbtdryof the ArQ:ndeUan marbles, wttb a com-^ 
xnent)^ f^bichwas published in May 1676, under -the ^itle 
** Marmora Oxoniensia,'* folio. Such a work was Well eal«» 
eulated to advance his: repmation abnoad^ as 'well asat 
bom€t; and there was such a demaod for it, tbut within a' 
fewyeai^ it ^ould not be procured but atia very btgb price; 
It suffered, however, very much fieom ^tbe • carelessness' and 
neglect of a Mr. Bennet, then corrector. to 'the'UMverBity: 
press, and -contained BO m^ny typograiphidal • errors, tfaM 
Mr. Prideaux never could speak of it ^di ecHaiplaceney; 
A more correct edition was published by Maitliaire^ in 
1732. In 1675 Mr. Prideaux took bis degree of M.A.: ^^ 

* Life, London, 1734, 8fo»—Whwton*s Memoirs, 



A 



PJIIDEAUX. 9SS 

Havlii^^ by ofAhr, ^ew&attd one of the- copies of die 
*:^ Marmora^' to thd lord chaDCcltor Finch, tbia introdoGecl 
bim to his lordflbip^s patronage^ %wbo soon after placed one- 
of hissons:upder himy asr.tiator at Cbrist Church; and- in 
1679 presentedhim to the rbotery of St. Clement's, ia thja^ 
suburb of Oxfoi-d^. where be.officiaited for several years. 
The same yeat he poblished two tracts om of Maimonides 
in Hebre%. with a Latin traosladon and. notes, ,noder the 
title ^^'I|t Jure pauperis et peregrini apod Judeos." This 
be did in consequenee of having been appointed Dr. Busby's 
Hebrew lecturer ia Christ Church, and with a view to^teach 
students the rabbinical dialect, and to read it without points. 
In 1681,' the lord .chancellor Finch, then earl of Notting^ 
barti^ presented bim to a prebend in the cathedral of Nor« 
wich. Id Nov: 1682, he was admitted to the. degree of 
bachelor in divinity^ and on the death of Lord Nottinghanii 
found another patron in bis 'luccessor sir Francis North; 
who^ in ^ebruaryof the fodlo wing year, g^ve hira the rec^ 
tory of Bladeii, with Woodstock cbupelry, in Oxfordshire ; 
and as Mr. Prideaux had been dppoanted librarian to Cbnbt 
Church, to whidh ho salary belongs, he was allowed to hold 
this living with his student's place. 

He now devoted himself .entirely to his studies and the 
duties of his function, going constantly, to Bladen and 
Woodstock every Si^nday ; and he kept a resident curate 
at Woodstock, for the discharge of all parochial duties i 
for wtose convenience, as well as that of fats soccessors^ 
Dr. Fell, now bishop of Oxford,, built, athis own exf>ence^ 
a bouse. The terms of the purchase and. building be left 
to Mr. . Prideaux, who completed it in 1^685. In college 
he exerted himself in reforming many abuses, and restoriog 
^scipline, which was not very acceptable to many of xhe 
studiehts, but. procured bim the friendship and esteem ^of 
•his learned contemporaries at the ^ university, particularly 
bishop Fell and Df^s. Pocock, Marshall, Bernard, MilLs^ 
.Godolphin, &c. On the death of bishop Fell^ when king 
James^ imposed a popish dean on Christ Church, Mr. Prideaui: 
determined to quit Oxford^ and settle on his €mres;'and 
accordingly, having,* in 1686, proceeded doctor in divinity^ 
be exchanged his living of Bladen for- the. rectory of Saham 
/in Norfolk, and then left Oxford, to which he never re- 
turned. A few days before this he attended the funeral of 
his revered friend, Dr. Fell. 

Wh^n he came to settle at Norwich, such was bis 



tSe P R I D E A U X. 

repuUtion for judgment and integrity, that tfae whole ma- 
nagement of the affairs of the cathedral was Committed to 
him, and throughout life he was concerned in placing them 
in a much better situation than he found them, great irre- 
gularities having prevailed in the keeping of the accounts, 
and the registers and other documents belonging to the 
church being much neglected. All these he sought out, 
examined, and arranged in a proper manner; and ordered, 
from time, to time, some very necessary repaiw in the 
church. He was also, soon after his arrival here, engaged 
in a controversy with the popish party, whose emissaries, 
taking encouragement from the conduct of king James II. 
were now more than usually industrious. Those who bad 
vicrited Norfolk, particularly, insisted on the invalidity 
of the orders of the church of England ; << for, having no 
priesthood, we could have no sacraments, and consequently, 
could be no church ; nor could salvation be had among us. -' 
In reply to this. Dr. Prideaux published a vi^ork entitled 
<' The Validity of the Orders of the Church of England 
made out against the objections of the papists : in several 
letters to a gentleman of Norwich, &c/'r 1688, 8vo; re- 
printed in 1715. He also preached in the cathedral against 
several of the tenets of popery, at a time when many of his 
brethren were intimidated by the determination of the king 
to establish that religion. One good effect df this was, 
that his brethren caught a portion of his spirit, and handled 
the same subjects in their respective churches; and, by 
other seasonable measures, the mischief was delayed untU 
the abdication of the king ; and the consequent proceedings 
upon that important event dispelled the fears of the ftienda 
of the protestant religion. 

In December of this year ( 1 688)Dr. Prideaux was collated 
to the archdeaconry of Suffolk by Dr. William Lloyd^ 
i>ishop of Norwich. In May 1689 he made his first visita- 
Mon of his archdeaconry ; and the new oaths to government 
being then the general subject of debate among the clergy, 
his chief business was to give the best satisfactiou he could 
to those who had any doubts about them ; which he per- 
formed with such jBuccess, that out of three hundred pa- 
rishes, there were only three clergymen in all that juris-^ 
diction who refused to take them. In the winter following 
lie attended the convocation, which was called to consider 
of alterations and amendments of the liturgy, the canons^ 
ordinances, and constitutions, the reformation of the eccle- 



PRIDEAUX. 287 

siastical courts, &c. 8lc«; but, after sitting ten days, no 
progress was made in any of these measures, and the convo*' 
cation was adjourned. Dr. Prideaux, who was of opinion 
that many alterations in the liturgy were necessary, wrote 
ja pamphlet on the subject, entitled ** A Letter to a 
Friend, relating to the present Convocation at Westmin<» 
ster," of which several thousands were sold within a 
fortnight. 

After this be quitted Norwich, and resided at his par- 
sonage at Saham, in which church he officiated every 
morning and afternoon throughout the four years that he 
Jived there, unless when keeping his two months' residence 
iat Norwich, or visiting bis archdeaconry, which he did 
constantly twice a year, until unable to bear the journey 
in consequence of the stone, a disorder he^ had already 
contracted, and which at last proved fatal to him. A fa- 
vourite topic in his visitations was the duty of private prayet 
in the families of the clergy, which he urged by every 
argument ; and told them, that when visiting, if there was 
any house where the dwellers refused to hearthem per- 
form family- worship, that was no house for a clergyman to 
make his abode iti. * 

In the fijrst session of parliament after the new bishops 
(appointed in the room of those who refused to take the 
oaths to government) made their appearance, two bills were 
brought into the House of Lords, relattj^g to the church, 
in. both of which Dr. Prideaux was concerned: the first 
was to take away pluralities of benefices, the ..other to pre- 
vent clandestine marriages. Bishop Ekirnet intended to 
introduce the first, but submitted it previously to Dr. 
Prideaux, who drew up a bill, which all the prelates friendly 
to the measures thought would be less liable to objection^ 
and therefore it was brought into the House, but rejected ; 
the. other, to prevent clandestine marriages, was introduced 
by one of the peers ; and its object was, to make it felony 
in .the minister who should solemnize or officiate at such 
oiarriage. This matter being warmly debated, Dr. Kidder, 
then bishop of Bath and Wells, wrote to Dr. Prideaux, 
desiring his opinion on it. The doctor, in a very long let- 
ter, proved that the ecclesiastical laws were already suffi- 
cient to prevent clandestine marriages, if only carried into 
execution.; and stated, by what means, all the precautions 
provided in these laws had been evaded by the avarice of 
|haDceV1ors, commissaries, and registrars. He added that. 



5$B 



P H I BKIA U X. 



w t}ie bill $tbod^ it tsooldh^ve no other effect tkma'to' mif»i 
ject the clergy to be tried for their liveg every msririflg^ 
they.solemnized^ ' Kidder, who had made use of this, 
paper in the debate which ended in withdrawing the bill, 
immediately sent it to the press ; and the week following^ 
to Dr. Prideaux's grea;t surprize, Ue recj^tvod a ^printed 
copy of it from the^ bishops whohow^^vterhad-nol put bis 

name to it. ^ . " * ' 

In i691, on thedeath of Dr. Pbcock^ bis pfiofeisorship 
ipf Hebrew) was offered to Dn Prideaiux'; but he deeiined 
it, says his biographer, ^^ for several reasons, vrhich «t 
that time made it inconvenient to him to accept it, but 
afterwards it proved much to his detriment -that he did 
not." As after the slct of toleration,;many^ people imaging 
themselves at liberty either to go to church^ or stay «tt 
home, as theiy thought proper, by which means the chnrohes 
were much deserted, Dr. Prideaux drew up a circular let^ 
ter, directed to the ministers of his archdeaconry, whieiii 
was* aftenvards published, in 1701, at the end of his ^^Di« 
rections to Churchwardens." In 1^4, finding bis health 
impaired by the aguish air of Saham^ he determined to 
return again with his family to Norwich ; but, instead of 
putting in a curate at Saham, he thought it his duty to 
give up both benefice and ofBce, which he accordiligly 
did, into the hands of the bishop of the diocese, and in-* 
formed the warditp and fellows of New college, Oxfocd, 
the patrons of the living, of his resignation. On hitf re- 
tarn to Norwich, the care of the cathedral aflairit ^igaitt 
devolved upon him, in the absence of the dean (Dr« Fair^ 
fax), who resided mostly in London^. In 1696, the deaa 
and chapter presented him to the vicarage of Trowse, worth 
about 40/. and situated a mile from- Norwich. H^re be offi- 
ciated with the same assiduity and regularity as at Saham, and 
that purely for the love of duty ; for, in addition to bis Other 
preferments, he had a private fortune, which rendefi^d 
this last vicarage of no consequence in a pecuniary view. 
In 1697 he published his <« Life 6f Mahomet t,'* 8vo, of 



* On the promotion of Dr. Tepisoa 
to the see of Canterbury,' our author 
addressed a letter to his grace, con- 
taining <' An Account of the Eoglish 
settlements in the East Indies, together 
with some proposals for tbe propaga- 
tion of Christianity in thosep arts of ihe 
world." 



f The facetious Mr. Creates io» 
forms us, ** that when the learned 
Humphry Prideaux (as the story goes) 
offered his life of Mabomel to th« 
bookseller, he was desired to leare^the 
copy with him a few days, for his pe- 
rusal. The bookseller, who had hot 
the learniDg or taste of |i siod«fj| 



p R IDE A u::^. isy 

*!iicli threie editions were printed the first year. He in--. 
tended to have written a history of the Saracen empii*ei 
and with it the decay and fall of the Christian religion ; 
but. he gave ufp this design for reasons statied in the preface 
to the Life of Mahomet. This valuable work was followed! 
By nis useful lititle treatise called ^^ Directions to Church- 
wardens,'* whose negligence he had very nauch experi- 
enced in his archdeaconry: this has gone through manjr 
editions. In 1702, on the death of the dean of Norwichjj 
Dr. Henry Fairfax, Dr. Prideaux was installed as his sue-- 
cesser on June 8th of that year, and a more proper persoa 
could not be found. He now continued, with better eifectji 
if possibly that attention to reeularity and discipline whicfai 
• he had before piaid ; and although this made hina ob- 
noxious' to the persons whom he censured or dismissed^ 
the benefit to tKe general body wai too obvious not to be 
approved. In December l7oS, on a public thanksgfvingf- 
day for the success of the expedition to Vigo, he preached 
a sermon on the subject, which we potice as the only one 
he ever printed ; and,, had it been left to his own inclina- 
tton',' would never liave been thought of by himself for that 
purpose. * In 1703 he published a tract in vindication of the 
ecclesiastical law, which gives the successor in any eccle- 
stasticaV benefice ot promotion, all the profits^ fron^ the 
day 6f the avoidance. This was occasioned by an altera*- 
tioii in the Isiw which bishop Burnet was about to have 
introduced; but our author's arguments carried, sucH 
weight, that' the design wa^ given up. 

On the translation of the bishop of Npfwich to Ely, Dr. 
t^rideaiix was advised ^to make interest for the bishopric ; 
but being now sixty years of age, too late to enter on a 
course' of public life and parliamentary attendance, and for 
6ttier reasons, he declined interfering, and Dr. Trimnell 
became bishop, whom he thought every way deserving of 
the preferbfient. In the nlean time Dr. Prideaux continued 
his labours for the general interests of the church, and in 



f» 



artisti bayiniT coasulted with his ^earned a ^it^le ipqre Rumour in it." — Spiritual 

gatret^en, who were higlity pleased Qt|iiiote; Book II. chV I. — Th'is stoiy 

with the perfortDanoek told tlie doctor, is more briefly told i^ a note on Swift'n 

at ^ hi; jefijirn, ** Well, Mr. What's- wo^rks, where the book is said to haV^ 

yoiir^name/' says he, f< I have per-' been l^rideaux's *f Connection^;" id 

ased ycror 'mantiscripl; I don't know which,' it inustlble confessed, -the difll'^ 

what, to say to it; I believa I shall , ci^Itypf introdttcin; humour is mora 

▼entare to print it : the, thing, is we]l striking. 
•bough: bttt^I ootid wish th6^e#ere 

Vol. XXV. U 



S90 ? R I D E A U X. 

1709, published his tract on ''The original right o^ 
Tythes." In this, his first intention was to give the Histoiy 
of Appropriations ; and this was to have been only an in- 
troduction ; but it enlarging under his hand, he resolved 
to publish it by itself as the first part of the work.. He had 
for many years made collections of the common law and 
ecclesiastical history ; but wanted much information which 
he could not have without going to London, and consulting ' 
the public records there ; and he was about this time 
ifteized with the calamitous distemper of the stone ; so. that 
he was forced to lay aside that design. Upon this last ac- 
count also he resigned the vicarage of Trowse^ when no 
longer. able to go up into the pulpit. The severity oC 
his disorder now suggested the operation of lithotomy,! 
which was successfully performed by Mr. Salter, an enii« 
nent surgeon of London, who went to Norwich for the pur- 
pose ; but the subsequent cure, having been entrusted to a 
young man at Norwich, was so badly treated, that the pa- 
tient had almost lost his life, and was indeed ever after a. 
great sufferer by this misconduct. 

Being enabled, however, to return to his studies, after 
improving a new editioh of his *^ Directioos to Church 
Wardens,'' in 1712, he proceeded with that greater work, oa 
which his reputation with posterity principally depends. 
It was entitled "The Connection of the History of the Old 
and New Testament;'' the first part of which was published 
in 1715, the second in 1718, fol. Both parts were received 
with the greatest approbation, and went through eight 
editions in 4 vols. 8vo, at London, besides two or three at 
Dublin, before the end of 1720, since which it has been 
often reprinted, and is indeed accounted a standard book 
in every theological library. This history takes in the 
affairs of Egypt; Assyria, and all the other eastern nations, 
9s well as the Jews; and likewise those of Greece an4 
Rome, as far as was necessary to give a distinct view of the 
completion of the prophecies which relate to the times 
comprehended in the history. The author has also set in 
the clearest light some passages of propbane history, which 
before lay dispersed and buried in confusion : and there 
appears throughout the whole work such an amiable spi- 
rit of sincerity and candour, as sujBSciently atones for 
the few mistakes which escaped his diligence. Gordon^ 
the author of " Cato'is Letters," had certainly no prejudices 
^n favour of Prideaux, or of Iiis work ; yet be styles.it ^*a^ 



J? R I D E A U X. 891 

1»ody of ^ universal history, written with suph capacity, ac«- 
curacy, industry, and honesty, as make it one4)f the best, 
books that ever came into the .world, and shew him to be 
one of the greatest men in it No book was ever more uni- 
versally read and approved : it is, indeed, a great public 
service done to mankind, and entitles the author to the 
highest public gratitude and honour. But though I never 
saw any great work, to which 1 found fewer objections, yet 
ats a memorable proof how inseparably mistakes and preju* 
dices cleave to the mind of man, the great and candid Dr. 
Prideaux is not without them. I therefore do not upbraid 
l^im with them, but rather admire him for having so few. 
There are, however, some of his theological observations,, 
which seem to me not only ill-grounded, but to have a ten- 
dency to create in his readers wrong notions of the Deity, 
and to encourage them to mistake the common accidents 
of life, and the common events of nature, for judgments ; 
and to apply them superstitiously as such." There are 
letters between the deaa and his cousin Mr. Moyle, con- 
cerning some passages in this '^ Connection," &c. printed, 
in the " Miscellaneous Works" of the latter, and in Dr. 
Prideaux's life. Noman^ould be more willing to listea 
to reasonable objections, or to correct what could be proved 
to be wrong. Candour was the distinguishing feature of 
Pean Prideaux's character.. 

In the interval between the publication of the first and 
second parts of his ** Connection," lord Townsend, secre- 
tary of state to George I. having meditated a design to in- 
troduce a reformation in the two universities, consulted 
<>ur author upon ^t, who drew up a plan for the purpose^ 
and sent it to bis lordship, under the title of ** Articles 
for the Reformation of the two Universities." These 
^mounted to fifty-six in number. No proceeding was held 
^n' consequence of this ; but some of his articles have beea 
silently adopted, and others are perhaps irreconcileable with 
^e true interests of those seminaries. His proposition to 
erect a sort of college for those who had neglected their 
studies, by the name oi Drone-Hall, h^s mc^re the. air of 
a. piece of humour, than a serious proposition. The 
whole are printed in the volume which contains his life. 

In the seventy-fourth year of his age, finding himself so 
much weakened by age aiid infirmity that he could no longer 
i^sbe his books as formerly, ^nd being, desirous that his^oUec* 
Ijlon of Oriental books should not be dispei^se^, he permitt^^ 

U2 



292 P R I D E A tJ X. 

his 8011, who had been educated at that college^ to make' 
a present of them to the society of Clare-hall, Cambridge ; 
and they were accordingly deposited in Clare-halMibrary^ 
to the number of three hundred volumes and upwards^ It' 
were to be wished, that' such an example was more fre- 
quently followed, for there are few ways that tend more to 
render such a valuable collection useless^ than by dispers- 
ing it among private hands. 

About a year before his death he was wholly confined 
to his chamber, and at last his increasing infirmities took 
from him all power of helping himself. He ha:d always 
been a sufferer since his case, after being cut for the stones 
was improperly treated, and was frequently afflicted and 
greatly reduced, by rheumatic pains and paralytic affections. 
He expired Nov. 1, 1724, in the seventy-seventh year of 
his age, and was buried, according to his own direction, in 
the cathedral of Norwich. 

Dr. Prideaux was naturally of a very strong, robust con* 
stitution ; whicli enabled him to pursue his studies with 
great assiduity ; and notwithstanding his close application, 
and sedentary manner of life, enjoyed great vigour both 
of body and mind for many years together, till afflicted by 
the stone. Although we have few particulars of his course 
of study at Oxford^ it is evident that he must have been 
an early and hard student, and had accumulated a great 
fund of Oriental learning, and an intimate acquaintance 
with ecclesiastical history. His parts were very good, ra- 
ther solid than lively: bis judgment excellent: as a wri- 
ter he is clear, strong, intelligent, and learned, without 
any pomp of language, or ostentation of eloquence. His 
conversation resembled his style, being learned and in- 
structive, but with a conciseness of expression on many 
occasions, which, to those who were not well acquainted 
with him, had sometimes the appearance of rusticity. In 
his manner of life, he was regular and temperate, being 
seldom out of his bed after ten at night, and he generally 
rose to his studies before five in the morning. His dispo- 
sition was sincere and candid. He generally spoke his 
mind with freedom and boldness, and was npt easily di- 
verted from pursuing what he thought right. To those 
who differed from him in opinion, he always behaved with 
great candour. In party principles he was rather inclined* 
to what was called Low-church ; but in his adherence to 
the establishment, in performing all the duties annexed to- 



P R I D E A U X. 293 

bis prefermtots, in enjoining a like attention upon all 
with whom be bad inflaence, and in brs dislike of schism 
and schismatics, no man was more inflexible. He had at 
one time flattered himself that a few alterations in the li* 
turgy might tend to bring back the dissenters to the church; 
but he lived to see, what we have lived to see more clearly, 
that a few alterations would not answer the purpose. — For 
most of these particulars we are indebted to an excellent 
Life of Dr. Prideaux, which appeared in October 1748, 
'^ with several tracts and letters of his upon various subjects^ 
never before published.*' * 

PRIDE AUX (JoHiv), a learned English bishop, was born 
at Stowford, in the parish of Harford, near Ivy-bridge in 
Devonshire, Sept 17, 1578, and was the fourth of seven 
sons of his father, who being in mean circumstances, with 
so large a family, our author, after he had learned to write 
and read, having a good voice, stood candidate for the place 
of parish-clerk of the church of Ugborow near Harford. 
Mr. Price informs us, that ^' he had a competitor for the 
office, who had made great interest in the parish for him« 
self, and. was likely to carry tbe^lace from him. The 
parishioners being divided in the matter, did 'at length 
agree in this, being unwilling to disoblige either party, that 
the Lord-s-day following should be the day of trial ; the 
one should tuue the Psalm in the forenoon, the other in 
the afternoon ; and he that did best please the people, 
should have the place. Which accordingly was done, and 
Prideaux lost it, to his very great grief and trouble. Upon 
which, after he became advanced to one of the first digni* 
ties of the church, he would frequently make this reflec* 
tion, saying, ** If I could but have been clerk of Ugborow, 
I had nevei* been bishop of Worcester.'* Disappointed in 
this office, a lady of the parish, mother of sir Edmund 
Towel, maintained him at school till he had gained s<yne 
knowledge of the Latin tongue, when he travelled to Ox- 
ford, and at first lived in a very mean station in Exeter- 
college, doing servile offices in the kitchen, and prosecut- 
ing his studies at his leisure hours, till at last he was taken 
notice of in the college, and admitted a member of it in 
act^term 1596, under the tuition of Mr. William Helme, 
B. D. On January the 31st, 1599, he took the degree of 

^ Life, ubi supra. — Biog. Brit.— Birch's Tiilotsoo. — Qen. Dict.<«>GeDt. Ma^^.* 
Tol. LXX.^-Letters t>y eminent persons, 1813^ 3 vols. 8vo. 



iU P R r D E A U X. 

Bachelor of Arts, and in 1602 was chosen probationer fel<-t 
low of his college. On May the 1 Itb, 1603, be proceeded 
Master of Arts, and soon after entered into holy orders^ 
On May the 6th, 161 ], he took the degree of Bacbelor.of 
Divinity; and the year following was elected rector of hi» 
college in the room of Di'. Holland; and June the lOtb, 
the same year, proceeded Doctor of Divinity* In 16 15, 
upon the advancement of Dr. Robert Abbot to the bishop* 
ric of Sarum, he was made regius professor of divinity^ 
and consequently became canon of Christ-church, and 
rector of Ewelme in Oxfordshire ; and afterwards dis-*^ 
charged the office of vice-chancellor of the university for 
several years. In the rectorship of his college he behaved 
himself in such a manner, that it flourished more than any 
other in the university ; more foreigners coming thither for 
the benefit of his instruction than ever was known ; and in his 
professorship, says Wood, '> he behaved himself very plau<H 
fiible to the generality, especially for this reason, that in 
bis lectures, disputes, and moderatings (which were al^ 
ways frequented by many auditors), he shewed himself a 
stout champion against Socinus and Arminius. Which 
being disrelished by some who were then rising, and in 
authority at court, a faction thereupon grew up in the 
university between those called Puritans, or Calvinists, on 
the one side, and the Remonstrants, commonly called Ar^ 
minians, on the other : which, with other matters of the 
like nature, being not only fomented in the university, but 
throughout the nation, all thiogs thereupon were brought 
into confusion.'' In 1641, after he had been twenty- sis 
years professor, be was one of those persons of unble*- 
mished reputation, whom his majesty made bishops, on the 
application of the marquis of Hamilton, who had been one 
of bis pupils. Accordingly, in November of that year, h^ 
was elected to the bishopric of Worcester, to which he 
was consecrated December the 19th following ; but the re« 
bellion was at that time so far advanced, that be received 
little or no profit from it, to his great impoverishment 
For adhering stedfastly to his, majesty's cause, and pro^ 
nouncing ail those of his diocese, who took up arms against 
him, excommunicate, be was plundered, and reduced to 
such straits, that he was obliged to sell his excellent li^ 
brary. Dr. Gauden said of him, that he now became li- 
terally a helluo librorunif being obliged to turn his books- 
into bread for his children. He seems to have borne this 



P R I D E A U X. 295 

barbarotis usage with patience^ and even good* humour. 
On one occasiion, when a friend came to see him* and asked 
him how he did ? he answered, " Never better in my life, 
onljr I have too great a stomach, for I have eaten the little 
plate which tte' sequestrators left me ; I have eaten a great 
library of excellent books ; I have eaten a great deal of 
iinenf much of my brasSy some of my p«i?/^, and now am 
eome to eat my irrmf and wh^t will come next I know 
not/' So great was his poverty about this time that he 
Would have attended the conferences with the king at the 
Isle of Wight, but could not afford the means of travelling. 
£uch was the treatment of this great and good man, one 
of the best scholars and ablest promoters of learning in the 
kingdom, at the hands of men who professed to contend for 
liberty and toleration. 

He died of a fever at Bredon in Worcestershire, at the 
house of his son-in-law, Dr. Henry Sutton, July the 20th, 
1650, leaving to his children no legacy but '^ pious po« 
verty, God's blessing, and a father's prayers," as appears 
from his last will and testament. His body was attended 
to the grave by persons of all ranks and degrees, and was 
interred in the chancel of the church of Bredon. He was 
« man of very extensive learning; and Nath. Carpenter^ 
in his ** Geography delineated," tells us, that " in him 
the heroical wit$ of Jewel, Rainolds, and Hooker, as united 
into one, seemed to triumph anew, and to have threatened 
8 fatal blow to the Babylonish hierarchy.'* He was ex- 
tremely humble, and kept part of the ragged clothes ia 
which he came to Oxford, in the same wardrobe where he 
lodged his rochet, in which he left that university. He 
was exemplary in his charity, and very agreeable in con- 
versation. By his first wife, Mai*y, daughter of Dr. Taylor, 
burnt for the Protestant religion in the reign of queen 
Mary, he had several children; viz. William, a colonel in 
the service of king Chartes L and slain at the battle of 
Marston-moor in. 1644; Matthias, a captain in the army 
of that king,' who died at Lx)ndon 1646; and three other 
sons, who died in their infancy, and were buried in Exe- 
ter-college; and two daughters, viz. Sarah, married .to 
William Hodges, archdeacon of Worcester, and rector 
of Ripple in Worcestershire; and Elizabeth, married to 
Dr. Henry Sutton> rector of Bredon in Worcestershire. 
Oar author iiad for bis second wife, Mary, daughter of 



256 P R ID E A U X. 

a 

sir Thojn^s Reyael of West Ogwell in Devopsbice^ juit: 
Cleveland the poet wrote an elegy upon his death. 

His son Matthias, ^bove mentioned^ was born in 1622, 
an^ admitted of £x^ter-college in i ^40, wl\^re be toqk bif 
degree^m arts. He died at Loadon in 1646. After hi» 
death was published, under bis napie, '^ An ea:%y apd com* 
pendipus introduction for reading all sorts qf Histories/^ 
Oxon. ^64?, 4to; reprinted 1655, with a " Synppsis of 
the Counpils," Syritteu by hi^ fathe^r. ^ 

I)r. Prideaux's yvorks wjere, 1. ^'Ta-b^lsp ad Gramxnaticjini 
GraecamlntrpductorioB," Oxford, i 603, 4to, 3. "Tirocini- 
lim^d Syllogismum contexendum." .3. ^^ Heptades Logics^ 
siveMpnitaadamplioresTraqtatus introductoria.^' These twp 
l^st pieces were printed with the *^ Tabular ad Gr^mmati« 
cam GraBcam," &c. Mr. David Lloyd observjes, that our 
autbor^s Greek Grammar aud Logicjc were both but a 
fortnight's wprk. 4. ^^ Castigatio cujusd^m Ci^cuJatoris, 
qui B. P. Andream Kudsemon-Johannem Cydonium soc. 
J^su seipsum nqncupat, opposita ipsius calumniis, in £pis<» 
tola Isaaci Casauboni ad Frontonem DucasMm," Oxford^ 
16 1;4, $vo. 5. ^' AUoquium ^erexiiss, Beg. Jacobo Woo4* 
sjtocbio habitum, 24 Aug. 1624," in one sheet, 4to. 6. 
^^ Drationes novem inaugurates de totidem Theologian apir 
clbu^, prout in promotiohe Doctorum Oxoniae public^ pr^- 
pon^bantur in Comitiis/' Oxford, 1626, 4to. 7. ^^ Lee- 
tiones decern de totidem Religionis Capitibus, praecipue 
Hoc tempore controversis, prout publice babebaptur Oxo- 
nian in Veaperiis," Oxford, 1625, 4to. 8. ** Lectiones 22, 
QratioqeslS, Concione^ 6, et Qrafio ad Ji^cobum Regf^qa,'* 
Oxford, 1648, folio. Ainong which are contain^ tb(5 
precedipg lectures, oratiqus, and speeches to kiog Jamf^s 
at Woodstock. 9. ^^ Cpncio ad Artium Baccalaureos pro- 
more habits in Ecclesi^ 3. Mariae Oxon. in di^ Cinerum 
in Act. ii. ^2. Ann. 1616.V lo. ^^ Fasciculus Coutrover- 
siariiiB ad Juniorum aut occupatorum captum colUgaius,** 
^c. Oxford, 1649, 1651, 4to. 11. "Tbeo^pgiae §clio- 
lasticae Syntagma Mnemoaicum," Oxford, 1651. 12.*' Con-* 
cUioruig Synopsis," printed with the '' Fasciculus.'' 13. 
^', Epistola de. Episcppatu," folio. 14. '^ Manuductioad 
Tbeologiam Polemicaip," Oxford, 1657, 8vo, published 
by Mr. Thomas Barlow, afterwards bishop of Lincoln, nvitb^ 
a Latin Epistle b^forq it in the pam^, of the printer. 13.. 
'* j^ypomnemata Losica, Bl^etorica, pi^ysica, Metaphyr; 
sica,^' &c. Oxford, 8vo. 16. Several Sermons, as, 1. '^A 



PRIDEAUX. 257 

S^rtDon at the conseerdtion of Exeter-co\lege Chapel," on 
Luke xix. 46, Oxford, 1625, 4to. 2nd, ** Perez Uzzab> 
A Sermon before the king ;at Wopdstock," on 1 Samuel 
vi. 6, 7, Oxford, 1685, 4to. Both these sermons are 
printed with another volume, .entitled, 17. " Twenty Ser- 
mons," Oxford, 1636, 4to. The two first are entitled, 
"jCJaxist's Counsel for ending Law-cases," dedicated to his 
kiijancian Edmund Prideaux, esq. 18. " Nine Sermons pa ' 
several occasions," Oxford, 1641, 4to. 19. "A Synopsis 
9f the Coupcils/' subjoined to ^' An easy and compendious 
Introduction to History," published, as we have just no- 
ticed, in the name of his son Matthias* Prideaux. 20. '^ His-; 
tories of Successions in States, Countries, or Families,^* 
&.C. Oxford, 1653. 21. " Euehologia : or. The Doctrinet 
of. Practical Praying ; being a Legacy left to his daughters 
ia. private, directing them to such manifold uses of our 
Common Prayer Book, as may satisfy upon all occasions, 
without, looking after new lights from extemporal flashes," 
^e,dicated to his daughters, Sarah Hodges and Elizabeth 
SuttQjn, London, 1655, 8vo. 22. " The doctrine of Con* 
science, framed according to the form in the Commori 
Prayer;" left as a legacy to his wife, containing many cases 
qf conscience, and dedicated to Mrs. Mary Prideaux, relief 
9f the Right Reverend Father in God John, late Lord Bi- 
shop of Worcester, by T. N.; London, 1656,8vo. 23. "Sa* 
cred Eloquence : or. The Art of Rhetoric, as it is laid down 
in Scripture," London, 1659, 8vo. * 

PRIESTLEY (Joseph), a dissenting divine, but more 
justly eminent as a philosopher, was born March 18, 1733, at 
Field-head, near Leeds. His father, a clothier, was a dis-; 
senter of the Calyinistic persuasion. In hi^ youth he was 
adopted by an aunt, who provided for his education in se- 
veral schools, in which he acquired some knowledge of the 
lesirned languages, particularly Hebrew. Being intended 
for the ministry, he went, in 1752, to Dr« Ashworth's dis<- 
i^enting academy ,, at Daventry, where he spent three years,, 
£^pd cam^ out from it an adherent to the Arian system. 
Here too be became acquainted with Hartley^s Works, to 
whos^e opinions be was afterwards very partial. He first 
settled as a minister at Needham- market, in Suffolk ; and, 
after thr^e years' residence, removed to Namptwich in 
Cheshire. I]ere he also kept a school, and, to the more 

1 Wood's Athenae and Annalt.— Prince's Woribies.— Walker's Sufferings of 
Ue Cl^rf y.— ^Usb«('ft Lif« aac( Utters, p. 39^9.— Puller's Worthies, 



2d8 P R I E S T L E V- 

Common olDJects of instruction, added experiments in na« 
tural pliilosopby, to which be had already become attached.* 
His first publication was, an ** English Grammar," printed' 
in 1761, in which he pointed out errors in Hume^s lan- 
guage, which that author bad the candour to rectify in hir 
future editions of his celebrated history, ' 

In the same year, he was invited to become a tutor in 
languages in the academy at Warrington ; and here he first 
began to acquire reputation as a writer in various branches 
iof literature. Several of his works had relation to his office 
in the academy, which, besides philosophy, included lec- 
tures on history and general policy. A visit to London 
having introduced him to the acquaintance of Di*. FrankHn, 
Dr. Watson, Dr. Price, and Mr. Canton, he was encou- 
raged by them to execute a plan he bad already begun, of 
writing a " History of Electricity," which accordingly ap- 
peared in 1767. It is rather carelessly and hastily exe- 
ecuted, but must have been of advantage to the science. 
Almost the whole of his historical facts are taken from the 
Philosophical Transactions ; but dt the end he gives a num- 
ber of original experiments of his own. The most impor- 
tant of all his electrical discoveries, was, that charcoal is a 
conductor of electricity, and so good a conductor that it 
vies even with the metals themselves. This publication 
went through several editions, was translated into foreign 
languages, and procured him the honour of being elected 
a Fellow of the Royal Society, as one of his biographers 
says ; but Iris election took place the year befoipe ; and about • 
the same time the university of Edinburgh conferred on 
liim the degree of Doctor of Laws. ^ 

In the same year in which his History of |llectricity ap- 
peared, he left Warrington, and settled at Leeds as mi- 
nister, and instantly resumed his theological studies, which 
produced a number of publications, in which he amiounc^d 
the opinions he bad adopted. -From an Arian he was now 
become a Socinian, and not content with enjoying the 
changes which he was at^perfect liberty to make, he began 
to contend with great zeal against the authority of the 
established religion. It was, however, during his resi- 
dence here, that his attention was more usefully turned to 
the properties of fixed air. He had commenced experi- 
me;its on this subject in 1768, and the first of his publican 
tions appeared in 1772, in which he announced a method 
Qf impregnating water with fixed air. In the paper res^d* 



PRIESTLEY. QB9 

to the toyal society in ] 77'2, which obtained the Copley 
medal, be gave an account of bis discoveries ; and at the 
$ame tiitie announced the discovery of nitrous air, and its 
application as a test of the purity or fitness for respiratioa 
pf airs getrerally. About this time, also, he shewed th^' 
use of the burning lens in pneumatic experiments ; he re« 
lated the discovery and properties of muriatic acid air ; 
added much to what was known of the airs generated by 
]»utrefactive processes, and by vegetable . fermentation ; 
and he determiued many facts relative to the diminutioa 
and deterioration of air, by the combustion of chatcoal, 
and the calcination of metal. In 1774, he made a full 
^discovery of dephlogisticated air, which he procured from 
the oxyds of silver and lead. This hitherto secret, source 
of animal life and animal heat, of which Mayow had a faint 
glimpse, was unquestionably first exhibited by Dr. Priest-* 
ley, though it was discovered about the same time by Mr« 
Scheele, of Sweden. In 1776, his observations on respi- 
ration were read before the royal society, in which he dis*^ 
covered that the common air inspired was diminished ia. 
quantity, and deteriorated in qualit}^, by the action of th» 
blood on it, through the blood-vessels of the Jungs; and 
that the florid red colour of arterial blood was communis 
cated by the contact of air through the containing vessels* 
lu 1778 Dr. Priestley pursued his experiments on the pro* 
perties of vegetables growing in the light to correct impure 
air, and the use of vegetation in this parto^f the oeconomy 
of nature ; and it seems certain that Dr. Priestley made hia 
discoveries on the subject previously to those of Dr. In- 
genhouz, then engaged in similar researches. From tbia 
period Dr. Priestley seems to have attended to his pneu- 
matic experiments as an occupation, devoting to them a 
regular portion of his time. To this attention, among a 
prodigious variety of facts, tending to shew, the various 
substances from which gases may be procured, the methods 
of producing them, their influence on each other, and 
their probable composition, we owe the discovery of vw 
triolic acid air, of alkaline air, and of dephlogisticated ni- 
trous air; or, as il has since been denominated, the gas- 
eous oxyd of azote, the subject of so many curious and 
interesting experiments by $ir Humphrey Davy. To these 
may be added the production of various kinds of inSam-^ 
mable air, by numerous processes th&t bad escaped the 
observation of Mr* Cavendish* To Dr. Priestley, we ar« 



3D0 PR I E 8 T L E Y. 

iodebted for that fine experiment of reviving metallic 
calces iu inflammable air ; and he first ascertained the ne-« 
oessity for water to be present in the formation of tbQ 
gasesy and the endless production of gases from water 
kself. His experiments on this subject^ viz. the genera<« 
tion of air from water, opened a new field for reflection^ 
and deserve particular notice. It had been already re-* 
marked that water was necessary to the generation of every 
species of gas ; but the unceasing product of air from water 
had been obser\red by no one before. 
.. ^* To eniomerate," says Mr. Kirwan, " Dr. Priestley's 
diBCoreries, would in fact be to enter into a detail of most 
of those that hare been made within the last fifteen years. 
How many invisible fluids, whose existence evaded the sa* 
gacity of foregoing ages, has he made known to us ? The 
very air we breathe he has taught us to analyse, to exa- 
mine, to improve : a substance so little known, that even 
the precise effect of respiration was an enigma, until be 
explained it. He first made known to us the proper food 
of vegetables, and in what the difference between these 
and animal substances consisted. To him pharmacy is in- 
4lebted for the method of making artificial mineral waters^ 
as well as for a shorter method of preparing other medi« 
cines; metallurgy for more powerful and cheap solvents ; 
and chemistry for such a variety of discoveries as it would 
be. tedious to recite — discoveries which have n^w-modelled 
that science, and drawn to it, and to this country, the at-' 
ten tion of all Europe, it is certain, that, since the year 
1773, the eyes and regards of all the learned bodies in 
Europe have been directed to this country by his means. 
Jn every philosophical treatise his name is to be found, and 
in almost every page. They all own that most of their dis- 
coveries are due either to the repetition of his discoveries^ 
or to the hints scattered through his works." 
• The success. of his '^ History of Electricity'* induced him 
to adopt the design of treating on other sciences, in the 
same historical manner ; and at Leeds he occupied him-' 
self in preparing '^ The History and present state of Dis- 
coveries relating to Vision, Light, and Colours." The 
expences necessary in composing such a work obliged him 
to issue proposals fot publishing it by subscription ; and it 
appeared in 1772, in one very large volume 4to. The 
sale of this work by no means corresponded with the' expec- 
tations formed from the 4) umber of names given in as &ab- 



PHI E S T L E Y. Mt 

scribers ; il: has been said, not one«-tbird part of tbe hi]iir4t 
ber paid for, or demanded the book when it was published* 
One of his biographers says that it failed, chiefly because 
it was impossible to give adequate notions of many parts o£ 
the dieory of optics without a more accurate acquaintance 
with mathematics than common readers can be supposed 
to possess. Perhaps too^ the writer himself was scarcely 
competent to explain the abstruser- parts of this scnence. 

After a residence at Leeds for six years, Dr. Priestlej 
accepted tbe offer of the eurl of Sfaelburne, afterwarcb 
marquis of Lansdowne, to reside with his lordship in tfao 
nominal capacity of librarian, but really as his literary com«- 
panion. The terms were 250^. per annum, with a house 
for his family to live in, and an annuity for life of 1 50/. in 
the eyent of their being separated by his lordsbip^s dying^^ 
or changing his mind* He accordingly fixed bis. family m 
a house at Calne, in Wiltshire, near bis lordship'« seat j 
and during seven years attended upon the Doble earl in his 
winter-s residences at London, and occasionally in bis ex** 
cursions) one of which, in 1774, was a tour to the conti-* 
nent. This situation was useful, as affording Dr. Priestley 
advantages iir improving his knowledge of the world, and; 
in pursuing bis scientific researches ; and as he was peC'i* 
fectly free from restraint^ this was the period of sodm of 
those exertions which increased his reputation as a philo^ 
sopher, avid some of those which brought the greatest 
obloquy upon him as a divine. In 1775, he published bi« 
** Exannnation of the doctrine of Common S^nse, as held/ 
by Drs. Reid, Beattie, and Oswald,*' in which he treated 
those gentlemen with a contemptuous arrogance, of wbich^ 
we ^re told, he was afterwards ashamed. In his manner 
of treating his opponents, he always exhibited a. striking 
contrast to the mild and placid temper of his friend Dr^ 
Price. After this he became the illustrator of the Hart- 
leian theory of the human mind. He had, previously to 
this, declared himself a believer in the doctrine of pbilo* 
sophi(ial necessity ; and in a dissertation prefixed to hii 
edition of Hartley, he expressed some doubts of the imma^ 
teriality of the. soul. The charge which these induced 
against him of infidelity and atheism, seems only to have 
provoked him to a more open avowal of the same obnoxious 
sentiments; and in 1777 he published " Disquisitions oft 
Matter and Spirit," in which be gave a history of the doc- 
trines concerning the soul, and openly supported. th« 



SOi '^ PRIESTLEY.: 

system wbich, upon due investigatiooy he bad adopted/ ft 
was followed by *^ A Defence of Unitarianism, or tbesimplei 
Humanity of Christ, in opposition to his Pre<-existence$ 
and of the Doctrine of Necessity.*^ It seems not improbable 
that these works produced a coolness in the behaviour of 
his noble patron, wbich about this time he began to.iC'^ 
mark, and which terminated in a separation, after a con-v 
iiection of seven years, without any alledged complaint.^ 
That the marquis of Lansdowne bad changed his sentiments 
of Dr. Priestley appears from the evidence of the latter,: 
who informs us, that when be canje to London, be pro-^ 
posed to call on the noble lord ; but the latter declined 
receiving bis visits. Dr. Priestley adds, that during his 
connection with bis lordship,^ he never once aided him in 
his political views, nor ever wrote a single political para* 
graph. The friends of both parties seem to think that 
there was no bond of union between them, and his lord-, 
ship's attention became gradually so much engaged by 
politics, that every other object of study lost its hpld. Ac* 
cording, however, to the articles of agreement, Dr. Priest* 
ley retained his annuity for life of 150/. which was honour* 
ably paid to the last ; and it has been said, that when the 
bond securing to him this annuity was burnt at the riots q£ 
Birmingham, bis lordship in the handsomest manner pre- 
sented him with another. 

Dr. Priestley now removed to Birmingham, a situatioi^ 
which he probably preferred to almost any other, on ac^ 
count of the advantage it afforded of able workmen in eveiy 
branch requisite in his experimental inquiries, and of some, 
men distinguished for their chemical and mechanical know- 
ledge, particularly Watt, Withering, Bolton, and Kier» 
Several friends to science, aware that the defalcation of 
his> income would render the expences of his pursuits toa 
burtbensome for him to support, joined in raising an an- 
nual subscription for defraying them. This iissistance her 
Without hesitation accepted, considering it as more truly, 
honourable to hin^self than a pension from the crown, which 
inight have been obtained for him, if he had wished it^ 
during the short administration of the marquis of Rocking-^ 
bam, and the early part of that of Mr. Pitt. Some of these, 
snbscriptions were made with a view to defray the expences 
of his philosophical experiments only, but the greater part, 
of the subscribers were equally friends to bis theological 
atiniies. 



PRIESTLEY. 30«^ 

. He had not been long settled at Birminghs^m^ before a 
Tacaiicy happened in the principal dissenting congregation^ 
and he was unanimously chosen to supply it^ Theology 
now again occupied a principal share of his attention, and 
He published his ** History of the Corruptions of Chris-' 
tians," and " History of early Opinions concerning Jesus: 
Christ." These proved to be, what might be expected, a. 
fertile source of controversy, into which he entered with 
his usual keenness, and he. had for his antagonists two men 
not easily repelled, the rev. Mr. Badcock, and Dr. Hors» 
ley, in whose articles we have already noticed their contro-. 
versies with this polemic. The renewed applications of 
the dissenters^ for relief from the penalties and disabilities, 
of the corporation and test acts, afforded another topic of, 
discussion, in which Dr. Priestley took an active part; and: 
he did not now scruple to assert that all ecclesiastical esta-^ 
blishments were hostile to the rights of private judgment,, 
and the propagation of truth, and therefore represented them, 
as anti-christian, and predicted their downfall, in a style of 
inveteracy which made him be considered as the most dan-, 
gerous enemy of the established religion, in its counectioa 
with the state. Some of the clergy of Birmingham having; 
warmly opposed the dissenters' claims. Dr. Priestley pub-i 
]ished a series of ^^ Familiar Letters to the Inhabitants of- 
Birmingham," which, on account of their ironical manner, 
as well as the matter, gave great offence. In. this state of 
irritation^ another cause of animosity was added by the dif- 
ferent feelings concerning the French revolution. The 
anniversary of the capture of the Bastille^ July I4th, bad; 
been kept as a festival by the friends of the cause ; an,d it» 
celebration was prepared at Birmingham in 1791. Dr* 
Priestley declined joining the party ; but a popular tumult 
ensued, in which he was particularly the object of fury. 
Bis house, with his fine library, manuscripts, and apparatus, 
were made a prey to the flames,, and this at^ time when it, 
was generally asserted that the mobs in other great cities* 
were rather favourable to the republican cause. After ajT 
legal investigation, he received a compensation for his^ 
losses,, which compensation he stated himself, at 2,000/. 
abort of the actual loss he sustained. In this he reckoned 
many manuscripts, the value of which no. jury could esti- 
mate, and which indeed could have been calculated only 
in his own imagination. He was not, however, without. 
f](lpnds, who purchased for him a. library and apparatus 
equal| according to bis own account, to what he had lost. 



»i B R I E S T L E r. 

He now came to London, and took up bis residehcci at 
Hackney, where in a rery short time he was chosen to sac- 
deed his deceased friend, Dr. Price, as minister to a con- 
•gregation there ; and he had at the same time some connec- 
tion with the new college lately established in that village. 
Resuming his usual occupations of every kind, he passed' 
sbme time in comfort and tranquillity; ^< but," say hift' 
afpologists, ^'he soon found public prejudice! following him 
in every path, and himself and hh famity molested by the' 
rude assaults of malignity, which induced him finally to 
quit a country so hostile to his person and principled." On 
the other hand, we are told, that, " had Dr. Priestley con- 
ducted himself at Hackney like a peaceable ihem'ber of so- 
ciety, and in his appeals to the public on the subject of 
the riots at Birmingham, expressed himself with less acn- 
mony of the government of the country, the prejudices of 
the people would very quickly have given way t6 compas- 
sion. But when he persisted in accusing the magistrates' 
amd clergy, and even the supreme government of his coun- 
try, of what had been perpetrated by a lawless' mob, and' 
afppealed from the people, and even the lawti of England, 
to the societies of the * Friends of the Coi^stitution' at Pa- 
ris, Lyons, Nantz, &c. to the acadenay of sciences at Paris, 
when Condorcet was secretary, and to the united Irishmen 
of Dublin, how was it possible that the prejudit^es of loyaf 
Englishmen could subside?'* 

Whichever of these opinions is the true one, it is cer- 
tain that Dr. Priestley felt his situation uncomfortable, and* 
accordingly, in' the month of April 1794, embarked for 
America^ and took up his residence at the town of North- 
umberland, in Pennsylvania. It was a considerable la- 
bour, in this remote situation, to get a well-furnished 
library and chemical laboratory ; but he at length sur-- 
mounted all obstacles, and effected his pulrpose. He was 
offered a chemical professorship in Philadelphia, which be 
declined, not meaning to engage in any public duty, in 
order that he might be enabled to devote his whole time to 
his accustomed pursuits, in which he soon shewed his phi- 
losophical friends that he was not idle. Here, hov^ever^^ 
be was not generally so well received as he expected ; and' 
during the administration of Mr. Adams, he was regarded^ 
by the American government witht suspicion aind dislike : 
but that of Mr. Jefferson was afterwards very friendly to' 
Um. A severe illness, which he suffered in Pbiladelphiay' 



I> R I E S T L E Y. 305 

laid the foundation of a debility of his digestive organs, 
which gradually brought on a state of bodily weakness^ 
while his mind continued in full possession of ail its facuU 
ties. Of his last illness and death, we shall subjoin the 
account as given in the Philadelphia Gazette. 

^* Since his illness at Philadelphia, in the year 1801 he 
^evcr regained his foinmer good state of health. His com- 
plaint was constant indigestion, and a difficulty of swallow- 
ing food of any kind. But during this period of geoeral 
debility, he was busily employed in printing his Church 
History, and the first volume of his Notes on th^ Scrip- 
^iM-es, and in making new- and original experiments. Du- 
ring this period, likewise, he wrote his pamphlet of J^^us 
„TOd Socrates compared, and reprinted his Essay on Pblo^ 
gtston. , '^ . 

** From about the beginning of November 1805, to the 
middle of January 1804, his complaint grew more serious; 
yet, by judicious medical treatment, and strict attention to 
diet, he, after some time, seemed, if not gaining strength, 
at least not getting worse; and his friends fondly hopedi 
^bat his health would continue to improve as the season 
advanced. He, however, considered his life as very pre- 
carious. Even at this time, besides his miscellaneous 
reading, which was at all times very extensive, he read 
through all the works quoted in his " Comparison of the 
different Systems of Grecian philosophers with Chris- 
tianity ;•* composed that work, and transcribed the whole 
of it in less than thre^ months ; so that he has left it ready 
forlthe press. During this period he composed, in one 
^ay, his Second Reply to Dr. Linn. 

" In the last fortnight of January, his fits of indigestion 
became morie alarming, his legs swelled, and his weakness 
increased. Within two days of his death, he became so 
weak, that he could walk but a little way, and that with 
great diflSculty. For. some time he found himself unable to 
speak; but, on recovering a little, he told his friends; that 
be had never felt more pleasantly during his whole life- 
time, than during the time he was unable to speak. He 
was fully sensible that he had not long to liv^, yet talked 
whh cheerfulness to all who called on him. In the course 
of the day he expressed his thankfulness at being per- 
mitted to die quietly in his family, without pain, and with 
every convenience and comfort that he could wish for. He 
ilwelt upon the peculiarly happy situation in which it had 
Vol. XXV. X 



806 PRIESTL6V. 

§ 

pleased the Divine Being to place hitn in life, and tbe 
great advantage be had enjoyed in the acquaintance and 
friendship of some of the best and wisest men of the age in 
tvbicb he lived, and the sati^action he derived from having 
led an useful as well as happy life. He this day gave di«- 
rections about printing the remainder of bis Notes on 
Scripture (a work, in the completion of which he was 
much interested), and looked over the first sheet of the 
third volume, after it was corrected by those who were to 
attend to its completion, and expressed his satisfaction at 
die manner of its being executed. 

^* On Sunday, the 5tb, he was much weaker, but sat np 
in an arm-chair for a few minutes. He desired that John, 
chap. xi. might be read to him : he stopped the reader at 
the 45th verse, dwelt for some time on the advantage he 
had derived from reading the Scriptures daily, and recom* 
aiended this practice, saying, that it would prove a sourci 
of the purest pleasure. ^ We shall all (said he) »eet 
finally; we only require diflerent degrees of discipline 
suited to oiir different tempers, to prepare us for final hap^^ 

piness.' Mr. coming into his room^, he said, * Yon 

iee, sir, I am. still living.* Mr. observed, * that he 

would always live.' * Yes, I believe I shall; we shall meet 
again in another and a better world.' He said this with 

great animation, laying hold of Mr. ^'s hand in bodi 

his own. After evening prayers, when his grand-children 
were brought to his bed-side, he spoke to them sepai'ately, 
tod exhorted them to continue to love each other, &c. ^ I 
am going (added he) to sleep as well as you, for death it 
only a good long sound sleep in the grave, and we shall 
meet again.' 

*< On Monday morning, the 9th of February, on being 
asked how he did, he answered in a faint voice, that he 
had no pain, but appeared fainting away gradually. About 
eight o'clock, he desired to have three pamphlets which 
had been looked out by his directions the evening before^ 
He then dictated as clearly and distinctly as he had ever 
done in his life, the additions and alterations which he 
wished to have made in each. M-- took down the sub- 
stance of what he said, which was read to him. He ob- 
served, * Sir, you have^put in your own language, I wish 
it to be minej* He then repeated over again^ nearly word 
for word, what he had before said, and when it wastrans- 
dribed, and read over to him, he said, VThat is right, I 
have now done.' 



^ 



I 

^ Atit^ttt half M faoih" after, be desired thd[t he might' be 
Mih^fred to a; cot. About ten mhitrte!^ ^ftec he was re« 
^oved t<y it, he died (Feb. 6^ 1804) ; but breathed his 
Hsi SO' easH^) ttmt those wht> were sitting close to him did 
Hot fnfimediately^ perceive^ it. Re had pilt his hatid to hfs 
lace, ^hich prerertted them ftoth bbsertidg it'* 

Therte are many circutnstances in this account which tlie 
tead^r will consider' with prbfotmd attention; It ii unne- 
cessary to point them oitt, 6t to attempt a lengthened cha- 
I'axrter of Dr. Priei^ley. It ha)3 been siaid with ttuth that 
of his abilities, none cart* hesitate to' pronounce that they 
trt of first-rate excellence. His philosophical inquiries 
and publications claim the' greatest distinction, and have 
ittatenally c6ntribiited ta the advancement of science. As 
iktl experimental philosopher, he was among the first oif 
his age. As a divine, bad he prbved as diligent in propa- 
igftting truth as in disseminating errbr, in establishing the 
gospel in the' minds of men, instead of shaking their be- 
lief irr th^ doctrines of revelation, perhaps few characters 
of the last century would have ranked higher as learned 
ttien, or have been held in greater estimation. Such, how- 
ever, was not the character of his theological writings^ 
which, as Br. Johnson said, were" calculated to unsettle 
every thing, but to settle nothing. All this accords with 
the seritlihents of the great majority, of the nation, with re- 
spect to Br. Priestley as a divine, although we are aware 
th&t the epithet of bigot will be applied to him who records 
the fact. On the other hand, in dwelling on Dr. Piriesti- 
ley'd character as a philosojiher, his friends may take the 
itiokt effectual method of reconciling all parties, and hand- 
ing down his fame undiminished to the latest posterity. 
We have enumerated his principal Works in the preceding 
Sketch, but the whole amount to about 70 volumes, or 
tnnets, in 8vo. An analysis of then! is given in the " Life>** 
to which we are principally indebted for the above par^ 
ticular^. * 

. l^RIM ATieC lO (Francis) , an eminent ftdliari painter, 
wa^ fl^scended fVom a noble family in fiologiia, where he 
was born in 1490. His friends, perceiving that he had a 
strong inclination fbt design, permitted him to go to Mao- 
nlua, where he was six yeard i, disciple of Julio Romano, 
who was then otni&menting the apartments of the palace 

' " Memoir^," paitJy written by liiraself, ai)d partljr by (ijs Soa, 1806-7, 
Sfoli. 8vo.-^eiit. Mag: LXXIV.— Rees'i CyclopeOiai «c. 

X 2 



SOS PRIESTLEY. 

del Te. . In this time be became so skilful, tbat he repre* 
sented battles in stucco and basso relievo, better than any 
of the young painters at Mantua, who were Julio^s pupila. 
He assisted Julio in executing his designs ; and Francis L of 
France sending to Rome for a man that understood working 
in stucco, Primaticcio was the person chosen for this service^ 
and he adorned Fontainbleau, and most of the palaces in 
France, with his compositions. The king put such confi^ 
dence in him, that he sent him to Rome to buy antiques, 
in 1540 ; on which occasion he brought back one hundred 
and fourscore statues, with a great number of busts. He 
bad moulds niade by Giacomo Baroccio di Vignola, of the 
statues of Venus, Laocoon, Commodus, the Tiber, the 
Kile, the Cleopatra at Belvidere, and Trajan^s Pillar, in 
order to have them cast in brass. After the death of Rosso^ 
who was his rival, he succeeded him in the place of super- 
intendant of the buildings ; and in a little tioie finished the 
gallery which his predecessor bad begun. He brought so 
'many statues of marble and brass to Fontainbleau, that it 
seemed another Rbme, as well for the number of the antique^ 
as for his own works in painting and in stucco. He was bo 
imuch esteemed in France, that nothing of any consequence 
\iras. done without him, which had relation to painting or 
building; and he even directed the preparations for all 
^festivals, tournaments, and masquerades. He was made 
abbot of St. Martin at Troyes, and lived with such splen- 
dour, that he was respected as a courtier as well as a 
painter. ' He and Rosso taught the French a good style} 
for, before their time, what they had done in the arts was 
very inconsiderable, and had something of the Gothic in iti 
He died in 1 570, at the age of eighty, after having been fa- 
voured and caressed in four reigns. 

The frescoes of the palace del Te by Primaticcio, cannot 
lioi^, says Mr. Fuseli, with certainty be discriminated. His 
oil-pictures are of the utmost rarity in Italy, and even at 
Bologna. In the great gallery Zambeccari there is a con- 
cert by him, with three female figures, a most enchanting 
performance. The eye is equally charmed by the forms, 
the attitudes, the tone of colour, the breadth, taste, and 
ease of the draperies, and the original, air of the whole. 
T^icolo Abbiiti, the partner of his works, though not his 
Ischolar, was left by him to terminate what remained udt 
finished of bis plans in France.' 

' I Aif «nyiUe, toI. II.— PUkingWn by Fiselu 



1 



P R I N G L E. 309 

' PRINGLE (Sir John), baronet, president of the Royal 
Society, was born at Stichel-bouse, in the county of Rox- 
burgh, North Britain, April 10, 1707. His father was sir 
John Pringle, of Sticbel, hart, and his mother, whose name 
was Magdalen Eliott, was sister to sir Gilbert Eliott of Stobs^ 
bart Both the families from which he descended were 
▼exy ancient and honourable in the south of Scotland, and 
were in great esteem for their attachment to the religion 
and liberties of their country, and for their piety and vir« 
toe in private life. He was the youngest of several sons, 
three of whom, besides himself, arrived to years of matu- 
rity. His grammatical education he received at home, 
nnder a private tutor ; and after having made such a pro- 
gress as qualified him for academical studies, he was re- 
moved to the university of St. Andrew's, where he was put 
under the immediate care of Mr. Francis Pringle, professor 
of Greek in the college, and a near relation of his/athen 
Having continued there some years, he went to Edinburgh 
in Oct. 1727, for the purpose of studying physic, that being 
the profession which he now determined to follow. At 
Edinburgh^ however, he stayed only one year, the reason 
of which was, that he was desirous of going to Leyden, at 
that time the most celebrated school of medicine in Eu*- 
rope. Boerhaave, who had brought that university into 
reputation, was considerably advanced in years, and Mr. 
Pringle was unwilling, by delay, to expose himself to the 
danger of losing the benefit of that great man's lectures. 
For Boerhaave he had a high and just respect: but it was 
not his disposition and character to become the implicit 
and systematic follower of any man, however able and dis- 
tinguished. While he studied at Leyden, he contracted 
an intimate friendship with Van Swieten, who afterwards 
became so famous at Vienna, both by his practice and 
writings^. Van Swieten was not only Pringle's acquaint- 
ance and fellow-student at the university, but also his phy- 
sician when he happened to be seized there with a fit of 
lEfickness ; yet on this occasion he did not owe his recoviery 
to bis friend's advice ; for Van Swieten having refused to 
give him the bark, another person prescribed it, and he was 
cured. When he had gone through his proper course of 
studies at Leyden, he was admitted, Julj^ 20, 1730, to his 
doctor of physic's degree. His inaugural dissertation, 
" De marcore senili," was printed* Upon quitting Ley- 
den, Dr. Pringle settlod as a physician at Edinburgh, where 



HQ P R I N G L E. 

» • * * . 

he gfAned the e&teem of the magUtrates of dpe eiijf ^ nd 
of the professiors of the colleg^y ky his abiUties and gop4 
conduct; and^ su^h vf^s Ijiis known acquaioiaiiee with etibiv 
cal subjects, that, March 28, 1734, he was apppipte(}, by 
the magistrates and counc^ of the jcity of £ijllubur^b>. to bf^ 
joint prof/es^or pi {^neumati/cs and mora} philosophy witii 
Mr. Scott, during that gentleman's life, and S9]e prpfes^|r 
^fter hM decease ; and, in consequence of thi^ appoiotiu^J^tp 
Pr. P^ingle wa^f admittejd, on the sa^pe day^ a no^oobef of 
the un^yer^ity. Ii^ discl^grging the duties of thi^ n^sff eiBt 
pjoyo^ep):, his te^t-bop^ wai^ << Puffejidorff de Q^aip Ho^ 
minis et Civis,*' agreeably to ithe mietbod he pursue^ 
through life, of makiqg fact and experiment the basis of 
8ci^p.CjB. Dr. Pringle continued in the practice pf phy^ 
^t Edipbi^rgb, and ip perfor^iiug fbhe obligations of his pro^ 
fessprship, till 1742, ^\xen he was appointed physician tp 
the earl of Stair, who then con>nianded the 3ritisb army, 
^or t}us appoiutfpent he was chiefly indebted to his friei)4 
Dr. SteyepsQp, an epiipent physiciao at Edi^bi^rgh, wha 
kad ap intiniate acquaintance with lofd Staijr. By the in<v 
fQirest of this Pobleman, Pr. Pringle was CQp»titpted, Auj^ 
^^f ^742, physiician to the miliary bpspita^ ip Flapder^^ 
apd it was provided in Ithe ooaimisision, that bp should re-? 
^eive 9 salary pf twenty shiljipgs a«day, apd be entitled ibqi 
h^lf-pay for life, 0e did not, on this pcpasioii, resign his 
professorship of ipprai philosophy ; the university permitted 
|)im to relfaiu it, and Messrs* Muirhead and Cl^ghpro werQ 
allowed tp teach in bis absf^pce, a^ )ong as he continued to 
request itf The f^i&efpplary attention wt^ich Dr. Pringl^ 
paid tp hi^ <lnty a^ ap a^my pbysiciap is apparent from 
^very pag^ of hi^ ** Tr^atjse on .the Diseases pf the Army.'' 
Opf^ thipgi howevpr, de^ierye^ particularly to be m^ptioped, 
fis it is highly probable that if: was owing to bis suggestion^ 
I| b^d hitherto h^ep u^ualj for the security pf the sick, 
ivhep the ep^my w^s near, to remove them a great way 
froB| the camp ; the consequence pf which was, that many 
fver^ lost befpre thf^y camp under th^ care of the physi^^ 
^ians. The earl of Stair, beipg sensible of this evil, prp- 
ppsed tp the duke de Noaillps, when the army was eon 
fsatnppd^t Aschaffeuburg, in 1743, that the ho;^pitals op 
both sides should be cppsidered ^s san^tparies for the sick,^ 
s^nd m.utually protected. The French general, whp wa^ 
distinguished fpr hi? humapity^ readily agrepd tp the. pro « 
ppaal, and tppk the i^rst oppor^upity pf shewing a propei; 



P R I N G L E. ail 

c«gard to bis engigement. At the battle of Dettiiigei^ 
Dr. PxiDgle was iu a coach with lord Carteret during the 
whole time of the engagement, and the situation they were 
placed in was dangerous. They had been taken unawares^ 
amd were kept betwixt the fire of the line in frpnt, a 
French battery on the left, and a wood full of iiussars on 
the right. The coach was occasionally shifted, to avoid 
being in the eye of the battery. 3opn after this event. 
Dr. Pringle met with no small afBiction in the retirenoent 
pf his great friend, the earl of Stair> from the army. He 
offered to resign with his noble patron, but was not per- 
mitted. He^ therefore, contented himself with testifying 
bis respect and gratitude to his lordship, by accompanying 
him forty miles on his return to England ; after which he 
took leave of him with the utmost regret. 

But though Dr, Pringle was thus deppved of the imme* 
diate protection of a nobleman who knew and esteemed 
his worth, his conduct in the dqties of his station procured 
him effectual support. He attended the army in Flanders, 
through the campaign of 1744, and so powerfully recom- 
mended himself to the duke of Cumberland, that, in the 
spring following, March 11, he had a commission from his 
royal highness, appointing him physic.ian general to his 
majesty's forces in the Low Countries, and parts beyond 
the seas ; and on the next day he received a second coiin- 
missioo ifrom the duke, by which he was constituted phy« 
siciau to the royal hospitals in the same countries. On 
March 5, he resigned bis professorship in consequence pf 
these promotions. In 1745 he was with the army in Flan- 
ders, but was recalled from. that country in the latter end 
of the year, to attend the forces which were to be setnt 
against the rebels in Scotland. At this time he had, the 
honour of being chosen F. R. S. Dr. Pringle, at the be- 
ginning of 1746, in his official capacity, accompanied the 
duke of Cumberland in his expedition against the rebels, 
und remained with the forces, after the battle of Culloden, 
till their return to England, in the middle of August. We 
do not find that he was in Flanders during any part of that 
.year. In 1747 and 1743, he again attended the army 
abroad ; and in the aatomn of 1748 he embarked with the 
forces for England, upon the conclusion of the treaty of 
Aix-la-Ohapeile. From that time he . principally resided 
}fk Londpn, where, from his known skill and experiencej 
Mpd the reputation he had acquired, he mcight reasonably 



512 P R I N G L E. 

Expect to succeed as a physician. In April 1749, Dfl 
Pringle was appointed physician in ordinary to his royal 
highness the duke of Cumberland. In 1750 he published, 
in a letter to Dr, Mead, ^^Observations on the Gaol or 
Hospital Fever.^' . This work, which passed through two 
editions, and was occasioned by the gadl-distemper that 
broke out at that time in the city of London, was well re* 
ceived by the medical world, though he himself afterwards 
considered it as having been hastily written. After sup- 
plying, some things that were omitted, and rectifying a 
few mistakes that were made in it, he included it in his 
grand work on the ** Diseases of the Army,'* where it coni 
stitutesf the seventh chapter of the third part of that trea« 
tise. It was in the same yeiar that Dr. Pringle began to 
communicate to the Royal Society his famous *^ Experi^ 
xnents upon Septic and Antiseptic substances^ with re- 
marks relating to their use in the theory of Medicine.*' 
These experiments, which comprehended several papers, 
were read at different meetings *of the society ; the first in 
June, and the two next in the November following ; three 
inore in the course of 1751 ; and the last in Feb. 1752. 
Only the three first numbers were printed in the *^ Philo-i 
sophical Transactions," as Dr. Pringle had subjoined the 
whole, by way of appendix, to his ** Observations on the 
Diseases of the Army.*' These experiments lipon septic 
and antiseptic substances, which have accompanied eveiy 
subsequent edition of the treatise just mentioned, pro* 
cured for him. the honour of sir Godfrey Copley's gold 
medal. Besides this, they gained him a high and just re-^ 
putation, as an experimental philosopher. In February 
1753, he presented to the Royal Society "'An Account of 
several Persons seized with the Gaol Fever by working in 
Newgate ; and of the manner by which the Infection waft 
communicated to one entire family." This is a very cu'* 
rious paper; and was deemed of such importance by the 
excellent Dr. Stephen Hales, that he requested the author's 
permission to have it published, for, the common good of 
the kingdom, in the " Gentleman's Magazine ;" where it 
was accordingly printed, previous to its appearance in the 
Transactions. Dr. Pringle's next communication was, 
*^ A reniarkable Case of Fragility, Flexibility, and Disso* 
lutiou of the Bones." In the 49th volume of the ^' Trans- 
actions," we meet with accounts which he had given of an 
earthquake felt at Brussels^ of another at Glasgow and 



^ R I N G L e!, 3li 

t)unbarton; and of the agitation of the waters, Nov. 1^ 
1156, in Scotland and at Hamburgh. The 50th volume 
contains. Observations by him on the case of lord Walpole^ 
of Woolterton ; and a relation of the virtues of Soap id 
dissolving the Stone, as experienced by the reverend Mr. 
Matthew Simson. The next volume is enriched with two 
of the doctors articles, of considerable length, as well as 
value. In the first, be has collected, digested, and re- 
lated th6 different accounts that had been given of a very 
extraordinary Bery meteor, which appeared on Sunday the 
26th of November, 1758, between eight and nine at night; 
and, in the second, he has made a irariety of remarks 
upon the whole, in which no small degree of philosophical 
sagacity is displayed. It would be tedious to mention the 
various papers, which, bbth before and after he became 
president of the Royal Society, were transmitted through 
bis hands. Besides his communications in the Philosophi- 
cal Transactions, he wrote, in the Edinburgh Medical 
Essays, Volume! the fifth, an ^' Account of the success of 
the Vitrum erratum Antimonii.'* 

April 14, 1752, Dr. Pririgle married Charlotte, the se- 
cond daughter of Dr. Oliver, an eminent physician at 
Bath, and who had long been at the head of his profession 
in that City. This connection did not last long, the lady 
dying in the space of a few years. Nearly about the time 
of his marriage, Dr. Pringle gave to the public the first 
edition of his " Observations on the Diseases of the Army.*' 
it was reprinted in the year following, with some additions! 
To the third edition, which was greatly improved from the 
further experience the author had gained by attending the 
camps, for three seasons, in England, an Appendix, was 
annexed, in answer to some remarks that professor De 
Haen, of Vienna, and M. Gaber, of Turin, had made on 
the work. A similar attention was paid to the improve- 
ment of the treatise, in every subsequent edition. The 
work is divided into three parts ; the first of which, being 
principally historical, may be read with pleasure by every 
gentlemati. The latter parts lie more within the province 
of physicians, who are the best judges of the merit of the 
performance ; and to its merit the most decisive and am- 
ple testimonies have been given. It hath gone through 
seven editions at home ; and abroad it has been translated 
into the French, German, and Italian languages. Scarcely 
kny medical writer bath mentioned it without some tribute! 



914 P R I N G L £. 

of applause* Ludwig, in tbe second volume of bis '< Coow 
mentarii de Rebus in Scienda Natural! et Medicina gestis^" 
speaks of it highly; and gives an account of it, which 
comprehends sixteen pages. The celebrated and eminent 
baron Haller, in his ** Bibliotheca Anatomica,^' with a 
particular reference to the treatise we are speaking of, 
styles the author ^^ Vir illustris — de omnibus bonis artibus 
bene meritus.'' It is allowed to be a classical book in the 
physical line ; and has placed the writer of it in a rank 
with^the famous Sydenham. Like Sydenham, too, he has 
become eminent, not by the quantity, but the value of his 
productions ; and has afforded a happy instance of the 
great and deserved fame which may sometimes arise from 
a single performance. The reputation that Dr. Pringle 
gained by his ^^ Observations on the Diseases of the Army/' 
was not of a kind which is ever likely to diminish. The 
utility of it, however, was of still greater importance than 
its reputation. From the time that he was appointed a 
physician to the army, it seems to have been his grand 
object to lessen, as far as lay in his power, the calamities 
of war^; nor was he without considerable success in his 
jipble and benevolent design. By the instructions received 
from this book, the late general Melville, who united with 
bis military abilities the spirit of philosophy, and the spirit 
of humanity, was enabled, when governor of the Neutral 
Islands, to be singularly useful. By taking care to have 
bis men always lodged in large, open, and airy apartments, 
and by never letting his forces remain long enough in 
swampy places, to be injured by the noxious air of such 

J)]aces, the general was the happy instrument of saving the 
ives of seven hundred soldiers. Ijn 1763, Dr. Pringle was 
chosen one of the council of the Royal Society. Though 
be had not for some years been called abroad, he still held 
his place of physician to the army; and, in the war tha( 
began in 1755, attended the camps in England during three 
reasons. This enabled him, from further experience, to 
correct some of his former observations, and to give addi« 
(ional perfection to the third edition of his great work. In 
1758, he entirely quitted the service of the army; and 
being now determined to fix wholly in London, be was 
admitted a licentiate of the college of physicians, July 5, 
it) the same year. The reason why this matter was so long 
delayed might probably be, his not having hitherto come 
to a final resolution with regard to his settlement in tb^ 



P R I N G L E. SIS 

metropolis. After the accession of king George III. td 
tbe tbrpne of Great Brits^in, Dr. Pringle was appointed, in 
176^, pby9ician to tbe oueen^s household ; and this honour 
was succeeded, by his being constituted, in 1763, physi- 
<:ian extraordioary to her majesty. In April in the same 
ye^r, be had been chosen a member of the Academy of 
Sciences at Haarlem ; and, June following, he was elected 
a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London. la 
j^h^ succeeding November, he was returned on the ballot^' 
1^ second time, one of the counciPof the Royal Society ; 
liud, in 1704, on the decease of Dr. Wollaston, he was 
made physician in ordinary to the queen. In Feb. 17^6^ 
be w^s fleeted a foreign member, in the physical line, of 
tbe Royal Society of Sciences at Gottingen ; and, on the 
jftb of June in that year, his majesty was graciously pleased 
to testify bis sense of Dr. Pringle^s abilities and merit, bj 
raising him to tbe dignity of a baronet of Great Britain^ 
Jn July 1768, sir John Pringle was appointed physician in 
^ordinary to her late royal highness the princess dowager of 
Wales ; to which office a salary was annexed of 1 00/. a«year« 
In 1770, be was chosen, a third time, into the council of 
the Royal Society; as he was, likewise, a fourth time, for 
J772. . 

On Nov. 30, in that year, in consequence of the death 
of James West, esq. he was elected president of that illus* 
trious and learned body. His election to this high station^ 
though he had so respectable an opponent as the late siir 
James Porter, was carried by a very considerable naajority^ 
This was undoubtedly tbe highest honour that sir John 
pringle ever received ; an honour with which bis other 
literary distinctions could not be compared. It was at 9, 
▼ery auspicious time that sir John Pringle was called upon 
to preside over tbe Royal Society. A wonderful ardour 
•for philosophical science, and for the advancement of na* 
tural knowledge, had of late years displayed itself througb 
£urope, and had appeared with particular advantage in 
our own country. He endeavoured to cherish it by all tbQ 
methods that were in his power ; and he happily strucl( 
upon a new way to distinction anxl usefulness, by the dis-* 
courses which were delivered by him on the annual assign* 
ment of sir Godfrey Copley's medal. This gentleman bad 
originally bequeathed Ave guineas, to be given at each 
impiversary meeting of the Royal Society, by the deter^ 
faination of the' president and council, to the person wba 



Sl^ P R I N G L E. 

fiad been the author of the best paper of experimental ob«' 
servations for the year past. In process of time, this pe- 
cuniary reward, which could never be an important con- 
sideration to a man of an enlarged and philosophical mind, 
however narrow his circumstances might be, was changed 
into the more liberal form of a gold medal ; in which fom^ 
it is become a truly honourable mark of distinction, and a 
just and laudable object of ambition. It was, no doubt^ 
always usual with the president, on the delivery of the 
nfedal, to pay some cdrnplimeilt to the gentleman on whom 
it was bestowed i but the custom of making a set speech on 
the occasion, and of entering into the history of that part 
of philosophy to which the experiments related, was first 
introduced by Mr. Martin P'olkes. The discourses, how- 
ever, which he and his successors delivered were very 
short, and were only inserted in the minute-books of the 
society. None of them had ever been printed before sir 
John Pringle was raised to the chair. - The first speech 
that was made by him being much more elaborate and ex- 
tended than usual, the publication of it was desired ; and 
with this request, it is said, he was the more ready to com- 
ply, as an absurd account of what he had delivered had ap- 
peared in a newspaper. Sir John Pringle was very happy 
in the subject of his primary discourse. The discoveries 
in magnetism and electricity had been succeeded by the 
inquiries into the various species of air. In these en- 
quiries Dr. Priestley, who had already greatly distin- 
guished himself by his electrical experiments, and his 
other philosophical pursuits and labours, took the principal 
lead. A paper of his, entitled "Observations on different 
kinds of Air,'* having been read before the society in 
March 1772, was adjudged to be deserving of the gold 
medal; and sir John Pringle embraced with pleasure the 
occasion of celebrating the important communications of 
bis friend, and of relating with accuracy and fidelity what 
had previously been discovered upon the subject. At the 
close of the speech, he earnestly requested Dr. Priestley 
to continue his liberal and valuable inquiries; and we have 
recently said how well he fulfilled this request. It was 
not, we believe, intended, when sir John Pringle's first 
speech was printed, that the example should be followed : 
but the second discourse was so w'eW received by the Royal 
Society, that the publication of it was unanimously re-i^ 
quested. Both the discourse itself, and the subject oa 



P H I N G L E. ?17 

iMch it was delivered, merited such a distinction. Th^ 
composition of tbe second speech is evidently superior to 
that of the former; sir John having probably being ani- 
mated by the favourable reception of his first effort. His 
account of tbe torpedo, and of Mr. Walshes ingenious and, 
admirable (experiments relative to the electrical properties 
of that extraordinary fish, is singularly curious. The 
whole discourse abounds with ancient and modern learning, 
and exhibits sir John Pringle's knowledge in natural his^ 
tory, as well as in medicine, to great advantage. The third 
time that he was called upon to display his abilities at the 
delivery of sir Godfrey's medal, was on an eminently im- 
portant occasion. This was no less than Mr. (the late Dr.) 
Maskelyne^s successful attempt con)pletely to establish sir 
Isaac Newton's system of the universe, by his " Observa- 
tions made on the mountain Scbehallien, for finding its at- 
traction." Sir John Pringle took advantage of this oppor- 
tunity, to give a perspicuous and accurate relation of the 
several hypotheses of tbe ancients, with regard to the revor 
lutions of the heavenly bodies, and of the noble discoveries 
with which Copernicus enriched the astronomical world. 
IHe then traced the progress of the grand principle of gra- 
vitation down to sir Isaac's illustrious confirmation . of it ; 
to which he added a concise narrative of Messrs. Bour 
guar's and Condamine^s experiment at Chimboraco, and of 
Mr. Maskelyne's at Schehallien. If any doubts yet re^ 
inained with respect to the truth of the Newtonian system, 
they were now totally removed. Sir John Pringle had 

Jeason to be peculiarly satisfied with the subject of his 
burth discourse ; that subject being perfectly congenial 
to his disposition and studies. His own jife had been much 
epiployed jn pointing out the means which tended not only 
to cure, but to prevent, the diseases of mankind ; and it 
is projbable, from his intimate friendship with capt. Cook» 
that be might suggest to that sagacious commander some 
of the rules which be followed, in order to preserve the 
health of the crew of bis majesty's ship the Resolution,^ 
during her voyage round the world. Whether this was the.^ 
case, or whether the method pursued by the captain to 
attain so salutary an end, was the result alone of his own 
reflections, the success of it 'was astonishing; and this fa- 
mous voyager seemed well entitled to every honpur which 
could be^ bestowed. To him tbe society assigned their 
|;old medal, but he was not present to receive the honour* 



SIS P R I N G L E-. 

He was gone out upbn that voyagfe from vtMeh he ittfet 
teturned. In this last voyage he c6ntitrued ctijiiaSy stic* 
cessfui in maintaining the health of his liben. 

Sir John Pringle, in his next annual dissertatton, haJatt 
6pportanity of displaying his knowledge in a way in whrch 
it bad not hitherto appeared. The discourse tobfe its the 
from the prize niedars being adjudged to Mr. Mudge, arf 
eminent sinrgeon at Plymouth, upon account of his valii^ 
ab?le paper, containing " Directions for making the best 
composition for the metals of Reflecting Tetescopes, to- 
gether with a description of the pocess for grinding, po- 
Ksfaing, and giving the great speculum the trud paraboKt 
form." Sir John has accurately related a variety of parti^ 
eulatrsy concerning the invention of reflecting telescopes, 
the subsequent improvements of thes^ instruments, and the 
«ate in which Mr. Mudge found them, when he l5tst set 
about working them to a greater perfection, till be had 
tmly realized the expectation of sir Isaac Newton, who, 
tfbove an hundred years ago,, presaged that tb^ poblicr 
would one day possess a parabolic *specdlum, Hot acpom^ 
l^iished by mathematical rules, but by mechanical deviees. 
Sir John Pnngle's sixth discourse, to which he w^s led by 
the assignment of the gold medal to Mr. (now Dr.) fifutton, 
Cn account of his curious paper, entitled **The Poi*ce of 
fired Gnsnpowder, and the initial Velocity of Cannon-balW, 
determined by experiments," was the theory of gunnery; 
Though sir John had so long attended the arwy, this wai 
probably a subject to which he had heretofore pdd ierf 
fittle attention. We cannot, however, help admiring <vWi 
what perspicuity and judgment he has stated tt^e pr6gres^ 
l^at was made, from time to time, in the knowledge 6f 
projectiles, and the scientific perfection to which his friend 
Mr. Hutton had carried this knowledge. Sir John l^riugld 
was not one of those who delighted ij^l war, and in Hh^ 
shedding of human blood ; he was happy in being able to 
shew that even the study af artillery might be useful to 
mankind ; and, therefore, this is a topic which he h&s not 
forgotten to mention. Here ended his discourses upon the 
delivery of sir Godfrey Copley's medal. If he had con- 
tinued to preside in the chair of the Royal Society, h^f 
would, no doubt, have found othei: occasions of displaying 
bis acquaintance with the history of philosophy. But thef 
opportunities which he had of signalizing himself in this- 
respect were importairt in themselves, happily varied, anrf 
•uflicient to gain him a solid and lasting reputation. 



P R I N G L E. SI9 

Sererat marks of Kterary distinctiob, as we have already 
ieex}f had bieen coiifearred upon sir John Pringle, beft)iPB he 
was raised to the president's chair; but after ttest event, they 
were bestowed upon him with great abundance ; and, not 
again to resume the subject, we shall here collect them to- 
gether. Previously, however^ to these honours (excepting 
his having been chosen a fellow of the Society of Anti- 
quaries of London), he received the last promotion thaft 
was given him in his medical capacity, which wa«, htk 
being appointed, Nov. 4, 1174, physician eittraordinary 
to his majesty. In the year 1776 be was enrolled in the 
list of the members of no less than four learned bodies; 
These were, the Royal Academy of Sciences at Madrid ; 
the Society of Amsterdam, for the promotion of Agricul- 
ture ; the Royal Academy of Medical Correspondence at 
Paris; and the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Pe*^ 
tersburg. In July 1777, sir John Pringfe was nominated^ 
by his sevene highness the landgrave of Hesse, an honorary 
member of the Society of Antiquaries at Cassel. In 1778 
he succeeded the celebrated Linnaeus, as one of the foreign 
members of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris. Thit 
honour was then extended, by that illustrious body, only^ 
to eight persons, on which account it was justly esteemed 
a most eminent mark of distinction ;• and we beireve there 
have been few or no instances wherein it has been con* 
ferred on any other than men of great and acknowledged 
abilities and reputation. In October in the same year^ 
our author was chosen a member of the Medical Society at 
Hanau. In the succeeding year, March 29, he wa's 
elected a foreign member of the Royal Academy of Sci- 
ences and Belles Lettres at Naples. The last testimony 
^f respect which was, in this way, bestowed upon sir Johti 
Pringle, was his being admitted, in 1781, into the num^ 
ber of the felbws of the newly-erected Society of Anti-* 
quaries at Edinburgh, the particular design of which is to 
investigate the history and antiquities of Scotland. 

It was at a late period of life, when sir John Pringle 
was in the sixty-sixth year of his age, that he was chosen 
to be president of the Royal Society. Considering, there- 
fore, the extreme attention, that was paid by him to the va-? 
i^ious and important duties of his oi£ce, and the great pains 
he took in the preparation of his discourses, it was natural 
to expect that the burden of his honourable station should 
grow heavy Upon him in a course of time. This burden was 



MQ P R I N G L E. 

^iDcreased not only by the weight of years, but by the acd^ 
.dent of a fall in the area in the back part of his house, frooi 
^lvhich he received considerable hurt, and which, in its con- 
sequences, affected his health and weakened his spirits. 
.Such being the state of his body and mind, he began to en- 
.tertain thoughts of resigning thei president's chair. It ha3 
J)een said likewise, and believed, that he was much hurt by 
■the disputes introduced into the society, concerning the 
^qi|estion,, whether pointed or blunted electrical conductors 
^re the most efficacious in preserving buildings from the 
pernicious effects of lightning. Perhaps sir John Pringle's 
declining years,, and the general state of his health, will 
form sufficient reasons for his resignation. His intention, 
)iowever, was disagreeable to many of his friends, and to 
many distinguished members of the Royal Society. Ac* 
cordingiy, they earnestly solicited him to continue in the 
chair ; but, his resolution being fixed, he resigned it at the 
Mniversary meeting in 1778. Joseph Banks, esq. (now sir 
Joseph Banks) was unanimously elected president in his 
fQom, a gentleman whose life, and the services he has 
rendered to science, will hereafter form an importapt article 
in bjographicai works. Though sir John Pringle quitted 
his particular relation to the. Royal Society, and did nof 
attend its meetings so constantly as he had formerly done^- 
he still retained his literary connexions in general. , His 
house continued to be the resort of ingenious and philoso- 
phical .men, whether of his own country or from abroad^ 
and he was frequent in his visits to his friends. . He wa^ 
hel^ in particular esteem by eminent and learned foreigners, 
pone of whom came to England without waiting upon bim^ 
and paying him. the greatest respect* He treated them, in 
return, with distinguished civility. and regard. When a 
number of gjentlemen met at bis table, foreigners were 
usually a part of the company.. Sir John Pringle's infirmi** 
ties incrieasing, he hoped that he might receive aii advan- 
tage from an excursion to Scotland, and spending the 
summer there ; which he did in 1780, principally at Edin- 
burgh.. He had probably then formed some design of fixing 
his residence in that city. However this may have been, 
he, was so well pleased with a place to which be had been- 
habituated in his younger days, ^nd with the respect shewn 
him by bis friend^, that he purchased a house there^ whi- 
ther he iqtended to return in the following spring. Whea. 
he came back to London, in the autunui of the jear abo?e 



P R I N G L E. 321 

iiientioii«d, he began to pirepare for patting bis scbeme 
into execution. Accordingly, having first disposed of th« 
greatest part of his library, he sold his house in PalUmall^ 
in April 1781, and some few days after removed to Edin* 
burgh. In this city he was treated, by persons of ali 
ranks, with every mark of distinction. But Edinburgh was 
not now to him what it had been in early life. The viva« 
eity of spirits, which in the days of youth spreads such a 
charm on the objects that surround us, was fled. Many, 
if not most, of sir John Pringle^s old friends and contem* 
poraries, were dead ; and though some of them remained, 
they could not meet together with the same strength of 
eonstitotion, the same ardour of pursuit, the same anima- 
tion of hope, which they had formerly possessed. The 
younger men of eminence paid him the sincerest testi- 
monies of esteem and regard ; but it was too late in life for 
him to form new habits of close and intimate friendship. 
He found, likewise, the air of Edinburgh too sharp and 
cold for his frame, which had long been peculiarly sensible 
to the severities of weather.- These evijs were exaggerated 
by his increasing infirmities, and perhaps by that restless* 
ness of mind, which, in the midst of bodily complaints, is 
still hoping to derive some benefit from a change of place. 
He determined, therefore, to return once more to London, 
where he arrived in the beginning of September. Before 
sir John Prin^le entirely quitted Edinburgh, he requested 
his friend. Dr. John Hope, to present ten volumes folio, 
of *^ Medical and Physical Observations," in manuscript, 
to the Royal College of Physicians in that city. This be- 
nefaction was conferred on two conditions ; first, that the 
observations should not be published ; and iecondly, that 
they should not be lent out of the library on any pretence 
whatever. A meeting of the college being summoned upon 
the occasion, sir John's donation was accepted with much 
gratitude, and a resolution passed to comply with the terms 
on' which it was bestowed. He was, at the same time, 
preparing two other volumes to be given to the university, 
containing the formulas referred tb in his annotations. 

Sir John Pringle, upon his arrival at the metropolis, 
found his spirits somewhat revived. He was greatly pleased 
with revisiting his London friends, and he was received 
by them with equal cordiality and affection. His Siaikiday 
evening conversations were honoured with the attendance 
•of many respectable men ; and, on th*e other nights of the 

Vol. XXV. Y V 



322 P R I N G L E. 

week) be had the pleasure of spending a couple of bour^ 
with his firiends, at a society that had lon^ been established^ 
and which had met, for some time past, at Mr. Wutson\s, a 
grocer, iii the Strand. Sir Jobn'u connection with thi* 
society, and his constant attendance upon it, formed, to 
the last, one of his principal entertainments. The morning 
was chiefly employed by him in receiving and returning 
the visits of his various acquaintance ; and . he had fre-« 
quently a small and select party to dine with him at his 
apartments in King-street, St. James's-square. All this 
while his strength declined with a rapidity which did not 
permit his friends to hope that his life would long be con- 
tinued. On Monday evening, Jan. 14, 1782, being with 
the society at Watson's,, he was seized with a fit, from 
which he never recovered. He was accompanied home by 
Dr. Saunders, for whom he had the highest regard ; and in* 
whom he had, in every respect, justly placed the roost 
unreserved confidence. The doctor afterwards attended 
him with unwearied assiduity, but, to any medical puf-* 
pose, entirely, in vain ; for he died on the Friday follo\*'- 
ing, being the 18th day of the month, in the seventy-fifth 
year of his age ; and the account of his death was every 
where received in a manner which shewed the high sense 
.that was entertained of his merit. On the 7th of Februarv 
he was interred in St. Jameses church, with great funeral 
solemnity, and with a Tery honourable attendance of emi- 
nent and respectable friends. As a testimony of regard to 
jiis memory, at the first meeting of the College of Pby* 
sicians at Edinburgh, after his decease, all the members 
appeared ifi deep mourning. 

Sir John Pringle, by long practice, had acquired » 
handsome fortune, which he disposed of with great pru*- 
dence and propriety. The bulk of it, as might naturally 
and reasonably be expected, be bequeathed to his worthy 
uepheLW and heir, sir James Pringle, of Stichel, bart. 
.whom he appointed bis sole executor. But the whole was 
not immediately to go to sir James ; for a sum equal| we 
believe, to seven hundred poinds a year, was appropriated 
to annuities, revertible to that gentleman at the decease of 
the annuitants. By these means, sir John exhibited, an 
important proof of his regard and affection . for several of 
bis i^luable relations and friends. Sir John Pringle*s eQii- 
nent character as a practical physician, as well as a medical 
author, is so well known, and so universally acknowledge, 



P R I N G L E. 32$ 

that an enlargei|ient upon it cannot be necessary. In the 
exercise of his profession . he was not rapacioas ; being 
ready, on various occasions, to give his advice without pe- 
cuniary views. The turn of sir John Pringle's mind led 
him chiefly to the love of science, which he built on the 
firm basis of fact. With regard to philosophy in general, 
he was as averse to theory, unsupported by experiments, 
as he was with respect to medicine in particular. Lord 
Bacon Was his favourite author ; and to the method of 
investigating recommended by that great man he steadily 
adhered. Such being his intellectual character, it will not 
be thought surprising that he had a dislike to Plato. To 
inetapbysical disquisitions he lost all regard in the latter 
part of his life ; and, though some of his most valued 
friends had engaged in discussions of this kind, with very 
different views of things, he did not choose to revert to the 
studies of his youth, but contented himself with the opi* 
nions he had then formed. 

Sir John Pringle had not much fondness for poetry. He 
had not even any distinguished relish for the immortal 
Shakspeare : at least, he seemed too highly sensible of the 
xlefects of that illustrious bard, to give him the proper 
degree of estimation. Sir John Pringle had not, in his 
youth, been neglectful of philological inquiries ; and, 
after having omitted them for a time, he returned to tliem 
again; so far, at least, as Co endeavour to obtain a more 
exact knowledge of the Greek language, probably with a 
view to a better understanding of the New Testament. He 
paid a great attention to the French language ; and it is 
said that he was fond of Voltaire's critical writings. Among 
all his other pursuits, sir John Pringle never forgot the 
study of the English language. This he regarded as a 
matter of so much consequence, that he took uncommon 
pains with respect to the. style of his compositions ; tind it 
cannot be denied that he excels in perspicuity, correctness, 
and propriety of expression. Though he slighted poetry, 
he was very fond of music. He \vas even a performer on 
the violoncello, at a weekly concert given by a society of 
gentlemen at Edinburgh. Besides a close application to 
medical and philosophical science, sir John Pringle, during 
the latter part of his life, devoted much time to the study 
of divinity : this was, with him, a very favourite and inte- 
resting object. He corresponded frequently with Mi* 
cbg^lis on theological subjects ; and that celebrated pro- 

Y2 



324 P R I N G L E. 

fessor addressed to hiai some letters on ^* Daniel's Pro« 
phecy of the Seventy Weeks," which sir John thought 
worthy of being published in this country. He was accord- 
ingly at considerable pains, and some expence, in' the 
publication, which appeared in 1773, under this following 
title: '^ Joannis Davidis Michaelis, .Prof. Ordin. Philos. et 
Soc. Reg. Scient. Goettingensis Collegse, EpistolsB, de LXX 
Hebdomadibus Danielis, ad D. Joannem Pringie, baronet- 
tum : primo privatim roissse, nunc vero utriosque consensu 
publice editee," 8vo. Sir John Pringie was likewise a- 
diligent and frequent reader of sermons, which form so 
valuable a part of English literature. If, from the intel- 
lectual, we pass on to the moral character of sir John 
Pringie, we shall find that the ruling feature, of it was inte- 
grity. By this principle he was uniformly actuated in 
the whole of his behaviour. All his acquaintance with one 
voice agreed that there never was a man of greater inte- 
grity. He was equally distinguished for his sobriety. He 
told Mr. Boswell, that he had never in his life been intoxi- 
cated with liquor. In his friendships, sir John Pringie 
was ardent and steady. The intimacies which were formed 
by him, in the early part of bis life, at Edinburgh, con- 
tinued unbroken to the decease of the gentlemen with 
whom they were made ; and were sustained by a regular 
correspondence, and by all the good o$ces that lay in his 
power. With relation to sir John Pmngle's external man- 
ner of deportment, he paid a very respectful attention to 
those whom he esteemed ; but he had a kind of reserve 
in his behaviour, when be was not perfectly pleased with 
the persons who were introduced to him, or who happened 
to be in his company. His sense of integrity and dignity 
would not permit him to adopt that false and superficial 
politeness, which treats all men alike, however different 
in point of real estimation and merit. He was above 
assuming the professions, without the reality of respect. 
On the religious character of sir John Pringie it is more 
particularly important to enlarge. The principles of piety 
and virtue, which were early instilled into him by a strict 
education, do not appear ever to have lost their influence 
upon the general conduct of his life, Nevertheless, when 
h^ travelled abroad in the world, his belief of the Christian 
revelation was so far unsettled, that he becaitie at least a 
sceptic on that subject. But it was not the disposition of 
sir Jphn Pringie to rest satisfied in his doubts and difficul- 



P R I N G L E. 325 

ties, with respect to a matter of such high importance. 
He was too great a lover of truth, not to make religion 
the object of his serious inquiry. As he scorned to be an 
implicit believer, he was equally averse to the being an 
iioplicit unbeliever; which is the case of large numbers who 
reject Christianity with as little knowledge, and as little 
examination, as the most determined bigots embrace their 
systems. The res^ult of this investigation was, a full con- 
viction of the divine original and authority of the Gospel. 
The evidence of revelation appeared to him to be solid 
and invincible, and the nature of it to be such as must 
demand the most grateful acceptance. Such having been 
the character and eminence of sir John Pringle, it wa& 
highly proper that a tribute to his merit should be placed 
in Westminster abbey. Accordingly, under the direction 
and at the expence of his nephew and heir, a monument 
with an English inscription was erected, of which Mr. NoU 
lekens was the sculptor*^ 

PRIOLO ^Benjamin), in Latin Priolus, author of an 
History of France from the death of Louis XIIL in 1643 to 
1664,. was born in 1602. He was descended from the 
Prioli, an illustrious family, some of whom had been doges 
of Venice. He underwent some difficulties from losina 
bis father and mother, when young; but these did not 
abate bis passion for learning, which he indulged day and 
night. He studied first at Orthez, next at Montauban^ 
and afterwards at Leyden ; in which last city he profited by 
the lectures of Heinsius and Vossius. He went to Paris, 
for the sake of seeing and consulting GrotiusN*, and after* 
wards to Padua, where he learned the opinions of Aristotle 
and other ancient philosophers, under Cremoninus and 
Licetus. After returning to France, . he. went again into 
Italy, in order to be recognized by the house of Prioli, a^ 
one of their relations. He devoted himself to the duke 
of Rohan, then in the Venetian service, and became one 
of fais( most intimate confidents; but, uncertain what his 
fate would be after this duke's death, he retired to Geneva, 
having married, three months "before, a lady of a very 
noble family. The duke de Loirgueville drew him from 
this retirement, upon his being appointed plenipotentiary 
from the court of France for the treaty of Munster, as a 
person whose talents n)ight be of service to him ; and 
Priolo resided with him a year at Munster, where he con* 

* Life by Dr. Kippis, prefixed to sir John's " Six Discourse!," 17S3, 8vo. 



326 P R I O L D. 

tracted a very intimate friendship with Chigi the nuncio/ 
who was afterwards pope Alexander VII. From Munster 
he returned to Geneva; whence he went to France, in 
order to settle at Paris. He stayed six months in Lyons, 
and there had frequent conferences with cardinal Francis 
Barberini ; the effect of which was, that himself and his 
whole family abjured the Protestant religion, and imme- 

' diately received the communion from the hands of the 
cardinal. He was not, however, long easy at Paris ; for, the 
civil war breaking out soon after, he joined with the male- ' 
contents, which proved the ruin of his fortune. He was 
obliged to retire to Flanders, his estate was confiscated, 
and his family banished. Being afterwards restored to the 
favour of his sovereign, he resolved to lead a private life, 
and to devote himself to study. It was at this time, and 
to divert his melancholy, that be wrote, without the least 

- flattery or partiality, his " History of France," in Latin. 
It has gone through several impressions; but the best edi- 
tion is that of Leipsic, 1686, 8vo. He was again em- 
ployed in negociations ; and set out, in J 667, upon a 
secret affair to Venice ; but did not arrive at the end of bis 
journey, being seized with an apoplectic fit, of which he 
died in the archbishop^s palace at Lyons. He left seven 
children ; who, by virtue of his name, and their own accom- 
plishments and merit, rose to very flourishing circum- 
stances.* 

PRIOR (Matthew), an English poet of considerable emi- 
nence, was born July 21, 1664, but there is some difficulty in 
settling his birth-place. In the register of his college he 
is called, at his admission by the president, Matthew Prior, 
of Winburn in Middlesex ; by himself, next day, Matthew 
Prior of Dorsetshire ; in which county, not in Middlesex, 
Winborn, or Winborne as it stands in the Villare, is. 
found.' When be stood candidate for his fellowship, five 
years afterwards, he was registered again by himself as of 
Middlesex. The last record (says Dr. Johnson) ought to 
be preferred, because it was made upon oath ; yet there is 
much reason for thinking that he was actually of Wimborn in 
Dorsetshire, and that his county was concealed, in order to 
entitle him to a fellowship. (See Gent. Mag. LXII. p. b02.) 
By the death of his father, the care of him devolved 
upon an uncle, Samuel Prior, who kept the Rummer 
tavern, near Charing- cross, and who discharged the trust 

» Gen. Dict.*-.-NiceroD, vol. XXXIX. 



PRIOR. S27 

teposed in bim with a tenderness truly paternal, and at a 
proper age sent. him to Westminster school, where he was 
admitted a scholar in 1681, and distinguished himself to 
great advantage. After remaining here for a short time, 
he was taken home by his uncle, in order to be bred to his 
trade. At leisure hours, however, he pursued the study 
of the classics, on which account be was soon noticed by 
the polite company who resorted to his uncle's house. It 
happened, one day, that the earl of Dorsiet and other gen- ■ 
tiemen being at this tavern, the discourse turned upon a 
passao^e in an ode of Horace, who was Prior's favourite 
author: and the company being divided in their senti- 
ments, one of the gentlemen said, *^ Ifind we are not like* 
to agree in our criticisms; but, if I am not mistaken,' 
there is a young fellow in the house who is able to set us' 
all right" Upon which he named Matt. Prior^ who being 
called in, gave the company the satisfaction they wanted. 

Lord Dorset, exceedingly struck with his ingenuity and 
learning, from that moment determined to remove him' 
from the station he was in, to one more suitable to his 
talents and genius; and accordingly procured him to be 
sent, in 1682, to St. John's college in Cambridge, where' 
he proceeded B. A. in 1686, and was shortly after chosen 
fellow. In 1688, he wrote a poem called "The Deity.'* 
It is the eistablished practice of that college, to send every 
year to the earl of Exeter some poems upon sacred sub- 
jects, in acknowledgment of a benefaction enjoyed by 
\them from the bounty of his ancestor: on this occasion 
were those verses written; which, though nothing is said' 
of their success, seem to have recommended him to some' 
notice; for his praise of the countess's music, and his lines 
on the famous picture of Seneca, afford reason to suppose 
that he was more or less conversant in that family. 

The same year he published the "City Mouse- and 
Country Mouse," to ridicule Dryden's Hind and Panther,"' 
iu conjunction with Mr. Montague. Spence tells us how 
much Dry den was mortified at this attack, which appears 
somewhat improbable. Dryden, says Johnson, had been 
more accustomed to hostilities, than that such enemies 
should breakihis quiet ; and, if we can suppose him vexed, 
it would be hard to deny him sense enough to conceal his 
uneasiness. The poem, however, produced its author more 
solid advantages than the pleasure of fretting Dry den ; 
^ind Prior, coming to Loudon, obtained such notice, that, 



330 PRIOR. 

Prior now, whatever were his reasons, began to join th^ 
party who were for bringing the war to a conclusion, who 
were to expatiate on past abuses, the waste of public 
money, the unreasonable " Conduct of the Allies," the 
avarice of generals, and other topics, .which might render 
the war and the conductors of it unpopular. Among other 
writings, the ** Examiner" was published by the wits of 
this party, particularly Swift. One paper, in ridicule of 
Garth's verses to Godolphin upon the loss of his place, 
was written by Prior, and answered by Addison, who 
appears to have known the author either by conjecture or 
intelligence. 

The tories, who were now in power, were in baste to 
end the war ; and Prior, being recalled to his former poli- 
tical employment, was sent, July 1711, privately to Paris, 
with propositions of peace. He was remembered at the 
French court ; and, returning in about a month, brought 
with him the abb^ Gaiiltier and Mr. Mesnager, a minister 
from France, invested with full powers. The negociation' 
was begun at Prior's bouse, where the queen's ministers 
met Mesnager, Sept. 20, 1711, and 'entered privately 
upon the great business. The importance of Prior appears 
from the mention made of him by St. John, in his letter to 
the queen. '* My lord treasurer moved, and all my lords 
were of the same opinion, that Mr. Prior should be added 
to those who are empowered to sign : the reason for which 
is, because he, having personally treated with Monsieur 
de Torcy, is the best witness we can produce of the sense 
in which the general preliminary- engagements are entered 
into : besides which, as he is the best versed in matters of 
trade of all ypur majesty's servants who have been trusted 
in this secret, if you should think 6t to employ him in the 
future treaty of commerce, it will be of consequence that 
he has been a party concerned in concluding that conven- 
tion which must be the rule of this treaty." 

The conferences began at Utrecht Jan. I, 171 1-12, but 
advanced so slowly, that Bolingbroke was sent to Paris to 
adjust differences with less formality ; aiid Prior, who had 
accompanied him, h^d, after his departure, the appoint- 
ment and authority of an ambassador, though no public 
character. Soon after, the duke of Shrewsbury went on a 
formal embassy to Paris, but refused to be associated with 
a man so meanly born as Prior, who therefore continued to 
act without a title till the duke returned next year to Eng-* 



PRIOR. 331 

land, and then be assumed the style and dignity of ambas- 
sador. Yet even while be continued in appearance a pri- 
vate man^ he was treated with confidence by Lewis, who 
sent him with a letter to the queen, written in favour of the 
elector of Bavaria, and by M. de Torcy. His public dig- 
nity and splendour commenced m August 1713, and con- 
tinued till the August following ; but it was attended with 
some perplexities and mortifications. He had not all that' 
is customarily given to ambassadors : be bints to the queen, 
in an imperfect poem, that he had no service of plate; and 
it appeared, by the debts which be contracted, * that his 
remittances were not punctually made. 

On the first of August, 17 14, ensued the downfall of the 
tories, and the degradation of Prior. He was recalled ; 
but was not able to return, being detained by the debts 
which he had foiind it necessary to contract, and which were 
not discharged before March, though his old friend Mon- 
tague was now at the head of the treasury. On his return 
he was welcomed, March 25, 1715, by a warrant, and ex- 
amined, before a committee of the privy council, of which 
Mr. (afterwards sir Robert) Walpole was chairman, with 
^ great strictness and severity. He was then confined for 
some time, and on June 10, 1715, Mr. Walpole moved 
an impeachment against him, which, however, ended in 
his being released without trial or punishment. During 
his confinement he wrote his " Alma." 

, He had now his liberty, but had nothing else. What- 
ever the profit of his employments might have been, he 
bad always spent it; and at the age of fifty-three was, with 
all his abilities, in danger of penury, having yet no solid 
revenue but from the fellowship of his college, which, 
when in his exaltation he was censured for retaining it, he 
said " he could live upon it at last.'* Being, however, ge- 
nerally known and esteemed, he was encouraged to add 
other poems to those which he had printed, and to publish 
them by subscription. The expedient succeeded by the 
industry of many friends, who circulated the proposals, 
and the care of some, who,' it is said, withheld the money 
from him lest he should squander it. The price of the 
volume was two guineas ; the whole collection was four 
thousand ; to which lord Harlev, the son of the earl of Ox- 
ford, to whom he had invariably adhered, added an equal 
sum, for the purchase of Down-hall, which Prior was to 
enjoy during life, and Harley after his decease. 



332 PRIOR. 

. He had now, what wits and philosophers have often 
wished, the power of passing the day in contemplative 
tranquillity. But it seems^ says Johnson, that busy men 
seldom live long in a state of quiet. It is not unlikely that 
his health declined. He complains of deafness; ^* for/' 
says he, '^ I took little care of my ears while I was not sure 
if my head was my own.'' He had formed a design of 
writing an ^* History of his own Time ;" but had made 
very little progress in it, when a lingering fever carried 
him off, Sept. IS, 1721, in his fifty-eighth year. He died 
9t Wimple, a seat of the earl of Oxford, not far from Cam- 
bridge ; and his corpse was interred in Westminster-abbey, 
where a monument was erected at his own charge, 5002. 
having been set apart by him for that purpose, and an 
inscription for it was written by Robert Freind, master, of 
Westminster-school. After his death, more of his poecps 
were published ; and there appeared, in 1740, "The His- 
tory of his own Time, compiled from his original manu- 
scripts;" a composition little worthy of him, and un- 
doubtedly, for the most part,* if not entirely, spurious. To 
make his college some amends for retaining his fellowship, 
be left them books to the value of 200/. to be chosen by 
them^ out of his library ; and also his picture painted by 
La Belle, in France, which had been a present to him from 
Lewis XiV. 

" Of Prior," says Johnson, " eminent as be was, both 
by his abilities and station, very few memorials have been 
left by his contemporaries; the account therefore must 
now be destitute of his private character and familiar prac- 
tices. He lived at a time when the rage of patty detected 
all which it wa^^ any man's interest to hide; and? as little 
ill is heard of Prior, it is certain that not much was 
known. He was not afraid of provoking c<^nsure ; for, when 
he forsook the whigs, under whose patronage he first en- 
tered the world, he became a tory so ardent and deter- 
minate, that he did not willingly consort with men of dif«> 
ferent opinions. He was one oJF the sixteen tories who met 
weekly, and agreed to address each other by the title of bro- 
ther ; and seems to have adhered, not only by concurrence 
of political designs, but by peculiar affection, to the earl 
of Oxford and his family. With how much confidence he 
was trusted has been already told. 

" He was, however, in Pope's opinion, fit only to miike 
verses, and less qualified for bulsiness than Addison himsfdf. 



PRIOR. 333 

This was surely said without consideration. Addison, ex- 
alted to a high place, was forced into degradation by a 
sense of his own incapacity; Prior, who was employed by 
men very capable of estimating his value, having been se- 
cretary to one embassy, had, when great abilities were 
again wanted, the same office another time ; and was, after 
so much experience of his knowledge and dexterity, at last 
sent to transact a negociation in the highest degree ar- 
duous and important, for which he was qualified, among 
other requisites, in the opinion of Bolingbroke, by his in- 
fluence upon the French minister, and by skill in questions 
of commerce above other men. 

*^ Of bis behaviour in the lighter parts of life, it is too 
kte to get much intelligence. One of hb answers to a 
boastful Frenchman has been related ; and to an imperti- 
nent one he made another equally propen During his 
embassy he sat at the opera by a man, who, in his rapture, 
accompanied with his own voice the principal singer. Prior 
fell to railing at the performer with all the terms of re- 
proach that he could collect, till the Frenchman, ceasing 
from his song, began to expostulate with him for his harsh 
censure of a man who was confessedly the ornament of the 
stage. ** 1 know all that,'' says the ambassador, '^ mais il 
. chante si haut, que je ne s^aurois vous entendre.*' 

In his private character Prior was licentious, and de- 
scended to keep low company. In his " Tales" we find 
much indecency, and his works, collectively, are not a 
suitable present from a decent giver. Whatever his opi- 
nions, there seems no evidence to contradict the charge 
brought against him, that his life was irregular, negligent^ 
and sensual. For the merit of his poems we may refer to 
Dr Johnson's criticism, which some have thought rather 
severe. As it becomes more attentively considered, how- 
ever, it seems to harmonize with more recent opinions. 
Ease and humour are the principal characteristics of Prior's 
poetry. Invention he had very little; but, although his 
stories^ and even his points may be traced, he certainly had 
the happy art of telling an old story so as to convey new 
delight. He appears to have rested his reputation on his 
** Solomon," which he wrote with great labour. 'Johnson, 
who objects to it chiefly its tediousness, allows that the reader 
will be able to mark many passages to which he may recur 
for instruction and delight, many from which the poet may 
learn to write, and the philosopher to reason : and Cowper 



334 PRISCIANUS. 

says, that in his opinion, Solomon is the best poeai, whether 
we consider the subject of it, or the execution, that Prior 
ever wrote. * 

PRISCIANUS9 ^1^ eminent grammarian of antiquity^ 
was born at Caesarea, and afterwards went to Constan- 
tinople, where he taught the principles of his art, and was^ 
in the highest reputation about the year 525. Donatu;s, 
Servius, and Priscian, are called triumviri in " Re Gram- 
matica,^' by Laurentius Valla, who thinks them all excel- 
lent, and that none of the ancients, who wrote after them 
upon the Latin language, are fit to be mentioned with 
them. Priscian composed a work " De Arte Grammatica," 
which was first printed by Aldus, at Venice, in 1476 : it is 
addressed to Julian, not the emperor, as some have erro- 
neously supposed, but the consul. • He wrote a book " De 
NaturalibusQusBStionibus,^' which he dedicated to Chosroes, 
king of Persia. He translated " Dionysius's Description 
of the World," into Latin verse : this is printed with the 
edition of that author, at Oxford, 1697, in 8vo. Some 
have pretended that this grammariam was first a Christian, 
and afterwards a Pagan ; but there is no foundation for this 
opinion. Hadrian Valesius relates, that his iiame, in a 
very awcient and correct manuscript, is written Pracscianus. 
A person who writes false Latin is proverbially said to 
break Priscian's head.'\' 

PRISCILLIAN, a heretic of the fourth century, well 
known in ecclesiastical history for having revived the errors 
of the Gnostics and Manicheans, was a Spaniard, of high 
birth, and great fortune, with considerable talents and elo- 
quence. His opinions first became known in the year 379^ 
and were rapidly diffused in Spain. But in the ensuing 
year a council was held by the bishops of Aquitaine at Sara- 
gossa, in which the Priscillianists were solemnly con- 
demned. He was then but a layman, but soon after he 
was ordained bishop of Labins^ 9r Lavila, supposed to be 
Avila, one of the cities of Galicia, by two bishops of his 

* Johnson^s Live«. — Biog. Brit, — Gibber's Lives.— Swift's Works, see Index. 
— Burnet's Own. Tiroes. — Hayley's Life ofCowper* toI. L p. 290;— Nichols's 
Poems. — Fitzosborne's LeUer:^, Letter LXXIlK-^Bowles's Pope. — Malone's 
Dryd^n, vol. I. p. 54^2.— Forbes's Life of BeaUie. — Boswell's Life of Joboson. — 
Nichols's Correspondence of Atterbury.— Spence's Anecdotes, MS. — Gent. Mag. 
Index, and vol. LVII. 137, 399; LIX. p. 192; LXL 801 ; LXIV. 29; LXXL 
996; LXXV. 915. — D' Israeli's Calamities of Autbors.^-Respecting the report 
of Prior's having given the profits of his fellowship to the learned socius ^ectus^ 
Baker, see Walpote's Life of Baker,- or as quoted ia Nichols's Bowyer. 

* Fabric. Bibl. Lat.— Moreri. — Blount's Censura.— Saxii Onomast. 



P R I S C r L L I A N. 335 

own party. In the year 384, or, as Baronius in his Annals 
writes, 387, the' ringleaders of this sect were put to death 
by the emperor Maximus, having been convicted before 
the magistrates of the grossest immoralities. These were, 
Priscillian himself, Felicissimus, and Armenus, two eccle- 
siastics, who 'had but very lately embraced his doctrine; 
Asarinus and Aurelias, two deacons; Latronianus, or, as 
Jerome calls him, Matronianus, a layman ; and Eucrocia, 
the widow of the orator Delphidius, who had professed 
eloquence in the city of Bourdeaux a few years before. 
These were all beheaded at Treves. The rest of Priscil- 
lian's followers, whom they could discover or apprehend, 
were either banished or confined. The bodies of Priscil- 
lian, and those who suffered with him, were conveyed by 
the friends and adherents into Spain, and there interred 
with great pomp and solemnity ; their names were added 
to those of other saints and martyrs, their firmness extolled, 
and their doctrine embraced by such numbers of proselytes 
that it spread in a short time over all the provinces between 
the Pyrenees and the ocean. The author of the notes upon 
Sulpitius Severus tells us that he saw the name of Priscii- 
liah in some not very ancient martyrologies. In practice 
they did not much differ from the Manichees ; the same, or 
nearly the same, infamous mysteries, being ascribed to 
both: for, in the trial of Priscillian, before the emperor 
Maximus, it was alledged that he had countenanced all 
matmer of debauchery, that he had held nocturnal assem- 
blies of lewd women, and that he used to pray naked among 
them. Others, however, are of opinion that these charges 
|iad hot much foundation, and that the execution of Pris-> 
cillian and his followers was rather a disgrace than an ad- 
vantage to the Christian cause. ^ 

PRITZ (John George), Puitius, or Pritzius, a pro- 
testant divine, was born at Leipsic in 1662. He was cho- 
sen in 1707, at Gripswalde, professor of divinity, eccle- 
siastical counsellor, and minister ; which offices be there 
held till 1711, when he was called to preside over the mi- 
nistry at Francfort on the Maine. At that place he died, 
much beloved and esteemed, on the 24th of August, 1732. 
Besides the works that were published by this learned au- 
thor, he was, from 1687 to 1698, one of the writers of the 
Leipsic Journal. He was the author of many compilations 
of various kinds, and w^ote, 1. " A learned Introduction to 

' Moshcim and Milner.— Lardnelr*a Works. 



336 P R I T Z. , 

tf 
.the reading of the New Testament,*' 8vo; th^ best edition 
is 1724. 2. ^^ De Immortalitate Animae/' a cantrovemal 
book, against an English, writer. 3. An edition of tbe 
works of St. Macarius. 4. An edition c£ tbe Greek Testa- 
ment, with various readings, and maps. 5. An edition of 
the letters of Milton ; and some other works.* 

PROCACCINI (Julius Cjesar), aa eminent artist, waft 
tbe son of Ercole Procaccini of Bologna, a painter of oon- 
siderable note. He was bom in 1548, and was at first edu- 
cated as a sculptor, which be relinquished, and frequented 
tbe academy of tbe Caracci, but tbe principal object of his 
studies were tbe works of Corregio, and in the opinion of 
many, none ever approached nearer the grandeur of thafc 
style, particularly in easel pictures, and works of confined 
composition, though his grace be often meretricious, and 
his colour less vigorous. A Madonna of his at St^ Loigi de 
Frances!, has been engraved as tbe work of AUegri ; and 
some still better imitations may be seen in the palace of St. 
Vital! at Parma, in that of Caregaat Genoa^ and elsewhere. 
Of his various altar-pieces, the most resembling tbe manner 
of Corregio is perhaps that of St. Afra in Brescia r it repre* 
sents Maria with the infant, amid an ogling and smiling 
group of angels andsaints, where dignity seems as much 
sacrificed to grace, as in the mutual smile of the Virgin and 
the angel in his Nunziata, at St. Antonio of Milan ; gri- 
maces both, unworthy of the moment and of the mystery. 

He is sometimes equally blameable for extravagance of ^ 
attitude, as in the executioner of St. Nazario ; a picture 
else composed of charms and beauties. But »otwithstand<^ 
ing the number and copiousness of his works, his de-^ 
sign is correct, bis forms and draperies select, his in* 
vention varied, and the whole together has a certain gran«- 
deur and breadth which he either acquired from the t!]!a- 
racci, or like them derived from Corregio. He died ii^ 
1626, at the age of 78. He had two brothers, both 
painters, but not of equal merit with himself ; Camilio, 
who practised in history painting, and Carlo Antonio, who 
adopted landscape. The latter left|t son Ercole, called tbe 
Young, who painted flower-pieces with considerable skill, 
and died in 1676, aged 80.' 

PROCLUS, an eminent philosopher among tbe later 
Platonists, was born at Constantinople in the year 410, ctf 

i BIbl. German. toI. XXVIH.— Moreri. 
' Argenvillei rol. H.— -Pilkiogtoa by ?us€li. 



P R O C L U S. 337 

parents who w-ere lipth able and willing to provide for his' 
insitruction in all the various branches of learning and kndw-^ 
ledge.: He Was first sent to Xanthus, a city of Lycia, to' 
learn grammar; thence to Alexandria, where he was ikn^^ 
der the best masters in rhetoric, philosophy, and mathe-> 
matics ; and from Alexandria he removed to Athens, where 
be heard Plutarch, the son of Nestorius, and Syilantis, botlt 
of them Celebrated philosophers. He succeeded the last 
in the rectorship of the Platonic school at Athens, where' 
he died in the year. 485. Marinias of Naples, who was his' 
successor in the school, wrote his life ; and the first perfect* 
copy of it was published, with a Latin version and notes^ 
by Fabricius, Hamburgh, J 700, 4to, and afterwards sub-' 
joined to bis <t Bibliotheca Latina, 1703,"- 8vo. 
. He wrote a vast number bf works in various ways; many 
of which are lost, some are published, and a few remain 
still in manuscript only. Of the published, there are four- 
very elegant^ hymns; one to the ** Sun," two to •* Venus/' 
and one to the " Muses," of all which Godfrey Olearius,^ 
and Grotius, wrote Latin versions. There are "Commen- 
taries, upon several pieces of Plato/' upon the four, books 
of Claudius. PtoiemoBus '^ De judiciis Astrorum," upon the 
first book of " Euclid's Elements," and upon Hesiod*s 
** Opera & Dies." There are also works of Proclus upon 
philosophical and astronomical subjects; particularly the 
piece "De Spheera," which was published in 1620, 4to, by 
Bainbridge, the Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford.' 
Lastly, we may mention his " Argumenta XVIII. adversus- 
Cbristianos ;'' which, though the learned Cave supposed 
them to be lost, are still extant. Cave, concluding too 
much ffom the title of this piece, and from what Suidas 
says of Proclus, was led to rank him with Celsus, Julian,. 
Porphyry, as a professed and bitter adversary of Christir 
anity : whereas Proclus only attacks the Christians upon 
this syigle dogma, ^^ whether the world be eternal?" the 
affirmative of which he attempts to prove against them by. 
eighteen arguments. Joannes Philoponus refuted these 
arguments of Proclus, with eigliteen arguments for the ne- 
gative: and both the one and the other, for they are inter- 
woven, have been printed more than once with Latin ver- 
sions. 

.. The character of Proclus is that of all the later Platonists, 
wbo were in truth much greater enthusiasts than the 
Christians their contemporaries, whom they represented in. 
Vol. XXy. Z 



iU > RO C L U S. 

s 

thift light. Proclns was not reckotoed quite orthodax by fai9 
order t he did not adhere so religiouslj^ as Julian and Pot^ 
phyry, to the doctrines and principles of his master : ^' bm 
had^'* says Cudworth^ ^* some peculiar fancies and wbimsief 
of bis own, and was indeed a confounder of tbe Platonic 
theology, and a' mingWr of much iinini;eU%ible staff 
wkb it.'-* 

PROCOPiUS, an ancient Greek historian of the sixO^ 
century, was born at Casarea in Palestine, and wenltb^ioe 
to Constantinople in the time of the emperor Anastaslnaf 
whose esteem he obtained, as well as that of Justin thm- 
first, and Jiratinian. His profession was that of m rhetorieico 
and pleader of causes. He was advanced to be secretary td 
Belisarius, and attended that renowned general iii tbd wars 
of Persia, Africa, and Italy. He afterwards was admitted 
into the seaate, and because prefect or governor of thi» 
city at Constantinople; where he secrms to baiwe diedy 
tomewbat above sixty, about the year 560. His faistoi^ 
contains eight books ; two, of the Persian war, which aret 
epitomize by Phottus, in the sixty^tbird chapter of him 
** Bibliotbeca ;■' two, of t;he wars of the Vandals ; aadi 
fidiir, of that of the Goths; of all which there is a kind'df^ 
abridgment, in tbe preface of Agathias, who began hitf 
bbtory where Procopius left off. Besides these eight bociksv' 
Suidas mentions a ninth, which comprehends matters not 
befojre published, and is therefore called his anukrof or in«; 
edita. Vossius thought that this book was lost ; but it haitf 
since been publiitied, and gone through many editions^ 
Many learned men have beer) of opinion, that this is a spiO'*' 
rions work, and falsely ascribed to Procopins ; and cannoi} 
be persuaded, that be, who in the eight books represented^ 
Justinian^ Theodora^ and Belisarius^ in a very advantageous^ 
light, sboisld in this nmtfa have made such a calLectioa> oft 
particulars as' amounts to, an invective against them; and- 
Le Vayer was so' sensibly a^cted with this argument) tiMil^ 
be declares aH Procopius's history to be ridiculons^ if etBt 
so little credit be* given: to the calanioies of this piece. F^ 
brieius, however^ sees do reason, why this secret kistofjfr 
VMy not have been written by PvocopiuS ; and be prodace» 
several examples,>and thatof Cicero amongst tbem^ to^sfhew^ 
that nothing has been more usual, than for writers to- mtal 
greater liberties in their private accounts^ than they ean 



> Bra cker. ^Fabric 
'^Acadtmie des 



fabric. Bibl. Ore«.—Hatton*s Diet— Life by Bari^p^an Ui^ 
Inscriptions, ▼ol. XX3CI.— Blount'g Censunu-*-Saxii OuoousU 



P R O C P I U S. 339 

if^eoture to introduce in what was designed for the public* 
There is anbiher work of Procopius, still extant, entitled^ 
^^^nfffiormf sive de eedificiis conditis vel restauratis auspicio 
Jttstiniani Imperatoris libri vi.'* which, with his eight hooka 
of histojry, were first renewed in Greek by Hoescheiiu$. in 
1607; for the book of anecdotes, though* published in 
1624, was not added to these, till the edition of Paris, 1662, 
io folio, when they were all accompanied with Latin versions/ 
..The learned have been much divided, nor are they yeH 
agreed, aijout the religion of Procopius : some contending^: 
that he was an Heathen, some that, he was a Christian, and 
Si6iiie thai he was both Heathen and Christian : of which 
last. opinion was the learned Cave. Le Vayer declares 
for the Pitganisni of Procopius, and quotes the following^ 
passage from his first book of the ** Wars of the Goths,** 
which, be says, is sufficient to undeceive those who coosi** 
dered him as a Christian historian. ^' I will not trouble 
^lyseif," says he, speaking of the different opinions of 
Christians, ^^ to relate the subject of such controversies, 
although it is not unknown to me ; because I hold it a vain 
desire to comprehend the divine nature, and understand 
what God is. Human wit knows not the things here below; 
how then can it be satisfied in the search after divinity ? I 
e.(nit therefore such vain matter, and which only the credii- 
lily of man causes to be respected ; content with acknow* 
ledging,. that there is one God full of bounty, who governs 
us, and whose « power stretches over the universe. Let 
every one therefore believe what be- thinks fit, whether he 
be a priest and tied to divine worship, or a man of a private 
and seciilar condition.*' Fabricius sees nothing in this in* 
consistent with the soundness of Christian belief, and th^ne- 
fpre is not induced by this declaration, which appeared to 
Le Vayer, and other learned men, to xiecide against Pro- 
Gppius's Christianity. This, however, whaCever the real 
case niay he, seems to have been allowed on all sides, that 
Froeopius was atJeast a Christian by name and profession; 
and, that, if his private persuasion was not with Christians^- 
he conformed to the public worship, tin order to be well 
with the emperor Justinian. 

As an historian, he deserves an attentive reading, having 
written of libings which he knew with great exactness. 
Suidas^x after he had given him the surname. 6ft UIiistiriQUSy 
calls him rhetorician and sophister ; as perhaps he seems to 
have been too much for an historian. He is copious ; but 
his copiousness is rather Asiatic than Athenian, and has in 

Z 2 



340 P R O C O P I U S. . 

it more of superflatty than true ornament. It may not 
be improper to mention, that Grotius made a Latin version 
of Procopius's two books of the wars of the Vandals, and of 
the four books of the wars with the Goths ; a good edition 
of which was published at Amsterdam in 1655, dvoJ 

PROCOPIUS of Gaza, a Greek rhetorician and sophist, 
lived about the year 560, and has left Commentaries on the 
books of Kings and Chronicles, published by Meursius. in 
Greek and Latin, Leyden, 1620, 4to; Commentaries on 
Isaiah, printed at Paris, 1580, fol. Greek and Latin ; ^^ A 
Chain of the Greek and Latin Fathers on the Octateuch ;'' 
i. e. the first eight books of the Bible, printed in Latin, fol. 
Photius praises the style and accuracy of Procopius Gasseeus, 
but justly blames hin^ for his too long digressions.^ 

PROCOPIUS Rasus, or The Shaven, surnamed the 
Great, from his valour and military exploits, was a Bohe* 
mian gentleman, who, after travelling into France, Italy, 
Spain, and the Holy Land, was shaven, and even ordained 
priest, as is said, against his will, from whence he had the 
above epithet added to his name. He afterwards quitted 
the ecclesiastical habit, and attached himself to Zisca, chief 
of the Hussites, who esteemed him highly, and placed a 
particular confidence in him. Procopius succeeding Zisca in 
1424, committed great rs^vagesin Moravia, Austria, Branden- 
burg, Silesia, and Saxony, and made himself master of se- 
veral towns, and great part of Bohemia. He bad an inter- 
view with Sigismood, but not obtaining any of his demands 
from that prince, he continued the war. Upon bearing 
that the council of Basil was summoned in 1431, he wrote 
a long circular letter in Latin, to ail the states in his own 
nanve, and that of the Hussites, in the close of which he 
declared that he and his party were ready ta 6ght in de- 
fence of the four following articles : that the public ir- 
regularities of the priests should he prevented ; secondly^ 
that the clergy should return to the state of poverty, in 
which our Lord's disciples lived ; thirdly, that all who ex- 
ercise the ministerial office, should be at liberty to preach 
in what manner, at what time, and on what subjects they 
chose; fourthly, that the £ucbari8t should be administered 
according to Christ's institution, i. e. in both kinds. Pro- 
copius also wrote a letter to the emperor Sigismond, May 
22^ 1432, requesting him to be present with the Hussites 

> Care, vol. L-^Vossius dc Hist. Graec— Fabric, Bibl. Graec—Bfount's 
Ceosurra. — Saxii Ooomait. 
i Cave, vol. 1.— FabcJc. Bib!. Graec. 



P R O C O P I U S. 341 

at the council of Basil. He was there himself with bis party 
in 1433 : they defended tiie al>ove -mentioned articles very, 
warmly, but finding that their demands were not granted, 
withdrew, and continued their incursions and ravages. Pro- 
copius died of the wounds be received in a battle in. 1434. 
The Letters before spoken of, and the proposal which he 
made in the name of the Taborites^ may be found in the 
last volume of the large collection by Fathers Martenne ^nd 
Durand. He must be distinguished from Procopius, sur- 
named the Little, head of part of the Hussite army, who 
accompanied Procopius the Great, and was killed in the- 
same actiqn in which the latter received his mortal wound.' 
PROPERTIUS (Sextus AuRELius), an ancient Roman 
poet, was born at Mevania, a town in Umbria, as we learn 
from his own writings, and probably about the year of 
Rome 700. Some say, his father was a knight, and a man 
of considerable authority ;'^ who, becoming a partizan with 
Antony, on the capture of Perusia, was made prisoner, and 
killed by Augustus's order, at the altar erected to Csesar ; 
when his estate was forfeited of course. This which hap- 
pened when the poet was very young, he alludes to in one 
of his elegies, and laments the ruin of his family in that 
early season of his life. His wit and learning soon recom* 
mended him to the patronage of Mcecenas and Gallus ; and 
among the poets of his time, he was very intimate with' 
Ovid and Tibullus. We have no particular account of his 
life, or the manner of his death ; only he mentions his 
taking a journey to Athens, probably in company with his 
patron Maecenas, who attended Augustus in his progress 
through Greece. Those that make him live the longest, 
carry his age no higher than forty-one. His death is 
.usually placed B. C. 10. The jgreat object of his imitation 
was Callimachus ; Mimnermus and Philetas were two others,' 
whom he likewise admired and followed in his elegies. 
Quintilian tells us, that Propertius disputed the prize with 
Tibullus, among the critics of his time ; and the youngeir 
Pliny, speaking of Passienus, an eminent ^nd learned ele- 
giac poet of his acquaintance, says, that this talent was he- 
reditary and natural ; for that he was a descendant and 
countryman of Propertius. Propertius however was infe- 
rior to Tibullus in tenderness, and to Ovid in variety of 
fancy, and facility of expression ; still it must be granted 
t|)at he, w^s equal in harmony of numbers, and certainly 

< Moreri.-r-Diot. Hi»t.--^ Universal History, 



S4ir P R O P E R T I U S. 

gave the firdt specimen of the poetical epistle, which Ovid 
afterwards claimed as his invention. 

The works of this poet are printed with almost all the 
editions of Tibullus and Catullus; and separately b^ 
3rouckhusius at Amsterdam, in 1702, in 4to; again in 
1724, 4to; by Vulpius in 1755, with select notes from 
Brouckhusius and l^asserat, and a learned commentary of his 
own, in 2 vols. 4to, and in a form to accompany his Catal-^ 
lus and Tibullus ; by Frid. Gottl. Barthius, at Leipsic, in 
1777; by Burman (posthumou9) 1780, 4to, by far the best 
edition ; and lastly by Kuinoelus, at Leipsic, 1805, 8vo.* 
' PROSPER (St.) of Aquitaine, a celebrated, learned 
and pious writer, in the 5th century, and one of the greatest 
defenders of the grace of Christ, after St. Augustine, Vas 
secretary to St. Leo, and is even supposed by some critics 
to have been author of the epistle addressed by that pope 
to Flavian against the Eutychian heresy. Prosper had before 
zealously defended the books of St. Augustine, to whom he 
wrote in the year 429, concerning the errors of the Semi-* 
Pelagians, which had recently appeared in Gaul ; and after 
St. Augustine's death, be continued to support his doctrine, 
which he did in a candid and argumentative manner. Pros-' 
per answered the objections of the priests of Marseilles, re- 
futed the conferences of Cassian, in a book entitled 
** Contra Collatoi;em,*' arid composed several pther works, 
in which he.explains the orthodox doctrine, with the skill 
of an able divine, against the errors of the Pelagians and 
Semi- Pelagians. Many learned men have asserted, with 
great appearance pf probability, that Prosper was only a 
layman ; but others, with very little foundation, suppose 
him to have been bishop of Reggio in Italy, or rather of 
Riez in Provence. The time of his death is not ascertained; 
but he was alive in 463. The best edition of his works is 
that of Paris, 1711, folio, by M. Mangeant, reprinted at 
Rome, 1732, 8vo. Prosper's poem against the Ungrateful, ' 
L e. against the enemies of the grace of Christ, is particu- 
larly admired. M. le Maistre de- Sacy has given an ele- 
gant translation of it in French verse, 12mo. Our author 
must be distinguished, however, from another Prosper, who 
lived about the same time, and went from Africa, his na- 
tive country, into Italy, to avoid the persecution of the 
Vandals. This Prosper, called ** the African," was author 
of a treatise on the Call of the Gentiles, which is esteemed, 

1 Crosias's Lives of the Roman Poets.— Fabric* Bibl. Ltt, 



PROSPER. 34$ 

md of the ** Epistle to the Virgin Demetriad^/' in the 
'^Appendix Augustiniaoa," Antwerp, 170$, fol.* 

PROTAGORAS, a celebrated Greek philosopher of 
Abdera, is said by some to have been the son of a rich 
Thracian, but by others to have been of low birth, and to 
have followed the trade of a porter. He was ins|;ructed iti 
philosophy by Denaocritus, and, though his genins was ra« 
ther subtle than solid, taught at Athens with great reputa^^ 
tion ; but was at length driven from thence on account of 
his impiet}^, for he questioned the existence of a deity, and 
had begun one of his books with the following inipious ex^t 
pressioiis : ** I cannot tell whether there are any Gods, or 
hot ; many circumstances concur to prevent my knowing it^ 
as the uncertaintj^ of the thing in itself, and the shortness 
0f hunnan life.^' This book, which was publicly burnt) 
having occasioned his banishment from Athens, he theti 
▼isited the islands of the Mediterranean, find lived vMinf 
years in Epirus. Protagoras is said to have been the fvrst 
philosopher who received money for teaching. He fhii^ 
rished about 619 B. C. and died at a very advanced age, al 
he was going into Sicily. His usual method of reasoning 
^as by Dilemmas, leaving the mind in suspense concerning 
all the questions which he proposed ; on which subject the 
following story is told of a rich young man rianied Evathins^ 
This ^outb, having been received as hisi discipk^ for ft 
htrge sum, half of which he paid at first, ai>^ was Ko pay 
the remainder when he bad gained his first eauie, remained 
a long time in our philosopher's school, without troubling 
himself either about pleading or paying, which induc^ 
Protagoras to commence a law-suit for his mOftey. Wh^d 
they came before the judges, the young infan defi^ded 
himself by saying, that he had not yet gained ai^y cause } 
upon which Protagoras proposed this dileo^ma : ^* If I gain 
iby cause, thou wilt be sentenced to pay m^r^^><^ if tbba 
gainest it, thou art in my debt, according to our agree- 
tnent.'' But, Evathlus, well instructed by his master, re** 
torted the dilemma upoii him thus : *\lt the judges re]ec(!»6 
ine I owe thee nothing, and if they order me to pay th6 
money, then I owe thee nothings according to our agree- 
Bient, for I shall not have gained my cause." The judges^ 
it is added, were so embarrassed by these quibbles, that 

^ Memoir* of Literature, toI. V.— Cave, fol. I.-^icunl's Centora. — Saxii 
Onomast.-rMilner's Ch. Hist. rol. IL p. 549. 



H* P R D T A P P R A S. 

they Ijsft the. matter undecided. This stqry hdt9 the ftp? 
pearance of a fictipn, but Protagoras ceitainly made it hia 
business to furnish subtle arguments to dazzle and blind 
the judges, nor was he ashamed to profess himself ready to 
teach tl^e means of making the worse cause appear th^ 
better.' 

PROTOGENES, a famous ancient painter, was a native 
of Caunus, a city of Caria subject to the Rhodians. Who 
was his father, or his mother,' is not known ; but it is probar 
ble. enough that he had no other master than the public 
pieces that he saw ; and perhaps his parents, being poor^ 
cpuld not be at any such expence for his education in the 
firt, as was customary at that time. It is certain that he 
was obliged at first to paint ships for his livelihood: but 
\As ambition was not be rich; his aim being solely to be 
master of his profession. ~ He finished his pictures with 
l»uch anxiops care, that Apelles said of him, he never knew 
when he had done well. The finest of his pieces wa^ the 
picture of Jalisus, meutioned by several authors without 
giving any description of it^ or telling us who Jalisus was : 
some suppose him to have been a famous hunter, and the 
founder of Rhodes. It is said that for seven years, while 
Protogenes worked on this picture, all his food was lupines 
paized with a little water, which served him both for meat 
$knd. drink *. Apelles was so struck with this piece, that 
he could find no words to express his admiration. It wa^ 
^his same picture that saved the city of Rhodes, when be-t 
sieged by king Demetrius ; for^ not being able to attack it 
bpt on that side, where Protogenes w^ls at work, he chose 
rather to.abs^ndon bis hopes of conquest, than to destroy so 
fine a piece as tha( of Jalisus. 

The story of t\ie contest between Protogenes and Apelle^ 
is well known by the tale which Prior has founded on it. 
Apelles, hearing of the reputation of Protogenes^ went to 
Rhodes on purpose to ^fie his works. On his arrival there, 
he found in the house only an old woms^n ; who asking his 
name, be answered, ^* I am going to write it upon the can- 
yas tbs^t lies h^re;'' andy ticking his penpil with cplour on 

* After seven years spent upon it, Uirew hia spnnge nf!:ainst it in order (o 

be remained still cliagrined, because efface it; and this luck iiy produced by 

baying represented in it a ^og papting rhance whi\t his. art could not effect,-^ 

and out of breath, lie was ndt able to The same story, hoivever, is told ot 

draw the foam at his Inaulhj which Neodes and Apelles, respectini^ tbe 

vexed him to such a degree that hf foam of a horse. 

1 Stanley'sHist. of Philosophy .—Brucker.—Dict. Hist. 



P R O T O G E N E S. 345 

kj designed something with extreme delicacy. Protogenes 
coming home, the old woman told him what had passed, 
and shewed him the canvas ; who, then attentively observ- 
ing the beauty of the lines, said it was certainly Apelles 
who had been there, and taking another colour, he drew on 
those lines an outline more correct and more delicate; after 
which he went put again, bidding the old woman shew that 
to the person who had been there, if he returned, and tell 
him that was the man he inquired for. Apelles returning, 
and being ashamed to see himself outdone, took a third 
eblour, and, among the lines that bad been drawn, laid bn 
some with so much judgment, as to comprise all the subtlety 
of the art. Protogenes saw these in his turn, confessed bis 
inferiority, and ran in haste to find out Apelles. 

Pliny, who tells this story, says that he saw this piece 
of canvas, before it was consumed in the fire which burnt 
the emperor's palace; that there was nothing upon it, but 
some lines, which could scarcely be distinguished ; and 
yet this fragment was more valued than any of- the pic- 
tures among which it was placed. The same author in- 
forms us that Apelles asking this rival what price he had 
for his pictures ; and Protogenes naming an inconsiderable 
sum, according to the hard fortune of those who are ob- 
liged to work for their bread, Apelles, concerned 'at the 
injustice done to the beauty of his productions, gave him 
fifty talents, equal to 10,000/. for one picture only, de- 
claring publicly, that be would make it pass and sell it for 
his own. This generosity opened the eyes of the Rhodians 
as to the merit of Protogenes, an^ made them purchase 
this picture at a niuch greater price than Apelles had 
given. Pliny also informs us, that Protogenes was a sculp- 
tor as well as a painter. He flourished abojit the lOSth 
olympiad, or 308 B. C. Quintilian, observing the talents 
of six famous painters, says, Protogenes excelled in ex- 
actness, Pampbilius and Melanthus in the disposition, An- 
tiphilus in easiness, Theon the Samian^ in fruitfulness of 
ideas, and Apelles in grace and ingenious conceptions.^ 

PRUBENTIUS (Clemens Aurelius), an ancient 
Christian poet, was born in Spain in the year 348 ; but in 
what part is uncertain. He was brought up a lawyer ; and, 
being called to the bar, was afterwards made a ju<lge in 
two considerable towns. He was then promoted by t|;ie 

\ PHo. Nat, Hitt. 



846 P R U D E N T I U ». 

^lOP^roi^ Honoriua to a yery bigb office; bat not to th^ 
coii$uIate» as some have imagined. He was 6fty-seveo 
before he employed his mind on religion, and then wrote 
bis pc^ems on pious subjects!, which ^re npitber deficient iri 
^he true poetic spirit, nor much imbued with it. He 
9f(ep uses b^rsb e:i^pres$ions» pot r^qpncikable to pure 
i^»tinity> and i« even guilty pf fal^e quantity. Tbe^e effii*^ 
>ionf, tP which be chiefly gave Greek titles', are, "Psycho-* 
macbia) Qr The Cpmbftt of the Soul ;" " Catbemerinon, or 
Ppemn concerning ea^b day's duty ;" '* TUn r^amr, or 
Uymm \n Prfti^e of M^rtyr^ ;" " Apotheosis, pr Treatisea 
Vppn divine subject^ against Jev^s, InQ^els^ ^nd Heretics ;'*" 
^' HaiQMigena» or cqncerniog Original Sin> against Marn 
cion ;'' ** Twp Pooks against Syoioiaqhus ;*' " Dipiichqn, 
(ir some Histories of the Old and New Testament in dis- 
liistis," In the two books against Symmacbus, be shews 
the original of false deities, gives an account; pf the cpnveri 
lion pf the city of Rome ; and answers the petition* which 
Symmacbus presented to the emperors, to pbti^in the re-* 
establishment of the Altar of Yiptory, and other cerecna<» 
uiet^ of the pagan religion. These books were written bet 
fore the victory gained over Radag^is.us in the year 404^, 
aind after that which Stilicbo won over A Uric near Pol- 
leptinin the year 402 : for he pi^entipnsi the IWer, and sayi 
nothing qf the former, though his subject required it. 

The time of Prudentius's death is ppt mentjoned. HiH 
WQr](s were published by Aldus at Venice in 1301, 4to, and 
tb«t edition has been followed by many others^ A Varior 
rum edition was published by Weitzius^, at Hanau, in 1613; 
another, with the notes and cprrections of Nicbpl$is (lein-f 
sius, at Amsterdam, in 1667 1 19mo,' neatly printed by 
.Daniel Elzevir; another '^ In usu.m Delpbini,*' by fatbef 
Cbftmillard, at Paris, 1687, 4tp, and a splendid edition at 
Rome in 1788, 4to. > 

PIIYNN£ (W11.LIAM), an English lawyer, who was much 
distinguished by the number rather than ei;ccllence of bis. 
publications, during the reign of Charles I. was bom in 
16Q0, at Swanswick in Soosersetsbire, and e4uoated at a 
grammar- school in the city of Batb. He became a ca<tt*' 
moner of Oriel college, Oxford, in 1616 ; and, after taking 
a bachelor of arts' degree, in 1620, removed t6 Lincoln^&r 

1 Gen. Diet. — M^reri.— Lardoer's Works.— BIouDt's Crnsura. — Jortin^s Ob* 
seirationi. vol. Ill.—Saxii Ooomast. 



P R Y N N E. 



347 



if(nt vebere be studied the law, and wa$ made toccesaively 
1>arrister, bencberi and reader. At his first cotoing to that 
inn, be was a great admirer and foilower of Dr. Preston^ 
preacher to the inn (see Peeston), and published seve* 
ral books against what be thought the enorfoities of fhe 
age, and the doctrine and discipline of the church. His 
<< Histriomastix/' which came out in 16S2, giving grea( 
offence to the court, he was committed jprisoner to the 
Tower of London ; and, in 16^3, i»entenced by the Star* 
chamber, to be fined 5000/. to the king, pxpelled the vmtfr 
versity of Oxford aud Lincoin's^inn, degraded and diie»4 
abled from his profession of the law, to stand in the pilt- 
lory and lose bis ears, to have bis book publicly burot be**, 
fore his face, and to remain prisotier during life. Prynne 
was certainly here' treated with very anjust severity; for 
Wbitelocke observes, that the book wils Uoens^ed by areb^. 
btsbop Abbot's cbaplaiii, and was fluenely an Invective 
agaiinst plays and plajrers; ' but there being f ^ a reference' i«i 
tbe table of this book to this eSectf' wamen^oeiors noto*- 
riota wfunres, relating to some iMosnen'^ctora mentioned Hbl 
bb book, a^ he affirmeth, it happened, that about sis 
wreks after tt^is the queea acted- a .pact in a plastoral &t; Sq^ 
werset-bouse ; and then archbishop Laud and other pre- 
lates, whom Prynne bad angeired' by soqie books of hia 
' against ■ Arminianism^ ' and against the jurisdictioa of 
^shops, and by some prohibitions vfhiqh he had moved^ 
and got to the bigfa commission-court ; these prelates, and: 
their instruments, thenext day after the queen bad acted 
ber pastoral, shewed Prynne- s book against plays to the 
king, and that place in it, Taamen-actors notarums whores p. 
and they informed the king and queen> that Pcynne had 
purposely written this book against the queen and her pas-* 
^ral ; whereas it was published six weel|Ls before that pas- 
toral was acted/' 

After the sentence upon Prynne was executed, as it wast 
rigorously enough in May 1634, he was remitted to prisoa^. 



* The following particulars are ex- 
tracted from the Joamat of Sir Si- 
nionds D'Emtcs. " May 8, 1604, I 
departed from StowhafI towards Lon- 
daa I aod the next day in the after- 
noon came safe thither. As soon as I 
Ifgdted I heard a particular newes, 
which much ensadded my heart, touch- 
mg William. PriaBe, esquire, that had 



been an utter barrister of Lincolnei 
Inne, and a graduate in the unirersitie 
of Oxforde, who had lost one eare aU 
readie in the piilorie, or a parte of it, 
and was to lose a parte of the other to^ 
morrow. He was a most learned, re- 
ligious gentleman, had written manie 
acute, solid, and elaborate treatises, 
dot only against the blasphemous Ana- 



S48 



P R Y N N E. 



In June following, as soon as he could procure pen, ink, 
and paper, he wrote a severe letter to archbishop Laud 
concerning his sentence in the Star* chamber, and what the 
archbishop in particular had declared against him; who 
acquainted the king with this letter, on which his nciajesty 
commanded the archbishop to refer it to Noy the attorney- 
general. Noy sent for Prynne, and demanded whether 
the letter was of his hand- writing or not ; who desiring to 
see it, tore it to pieces, and threw the pieces oiit of the 
window ; which prevented a farther prosecution of him. 
In 1635, 1636, and 1637, he published several books: 
particularly one entitled ^^ News from Ipswich," in which 
he reflected with great coarseness of language on the arch* 
Ibishop and other prelates. The mildest of his epithets 
were ** Luciferian lord bishops, execrable traitors, devour- 
ing wolves," &c. For this he was sentenced in the Star-^ 
chamber, in June 1637, to be fined 5000/. to the king, to 
lose the remainder of his ears in the pillory, to be branded 
on both cheeks with the letters S. L. for schismatical 
libeller, and to be perpetually imprisoned in Caernarvon- 
castle. This sentence was executed in July, in Palace* 
yard, WesttniDster ; but, in January following, he was re- 
, moved to Mount Orgueil cattle in the isle of Jersey, where 
he exercised his pen in writing several books. On Nov. 7^ 
1640, an order was issued by the House of Commons for 
bis releasemeot from prison ; and the same month he en- 
tered with great triumph into London. In December 
following, he presented a petition representing what he 
had suffered from Laud, for which Wood tells us he had a 
recompense allowed him ; but Prynne positively denies 
that he ever received a farthing. He was soon after elected 
a member of parliament for Newport in Cornwall, and op-- 
posed the bishops, especially the airobbishop, with great 



baplists, in the defence of God's grace 
and providence, but against the rices 
of the clergie and the abides of the 
times. He had been censured in the 
Starre-Cbamber a few months before, 
for soqoe passages in a boo|ce bee wrete 
against stages plaies, called * Histrio- 
mastix/ as if be had in them let slippe 
some wordes tending to the queene's 
dishonour, because he spoke against 
the unlawfulness of m^.n wearing wo- 
men^s apparel, and women men's. 
Nothwitbstanding this censure, which 
most men were affrighted at, to see 



that neither his academical nor bar« 
rister's gowne could free him from the 
hifamous losse of his eares, yet all 
good men genera I lie conceived it would 
have been remitted; and manie re- 
ported it was, till the sadd and fat^U 
execution of it this Midsummer terme. 
I weoi to visit, him a while after in the 
Fleet, and to comforte him; and found 
in him the rate effects of an upright 
heart and a good conscience, by his 
serenitie of spirit and chearefull pa- 
tieqce.''. Biblioih. Topog. Briu No, 
XV. p. 55. 



P R Y N N E. 349 

vigour, both by his speeches and writings ; and was the 
chief manager of that prelate's trial. In 1647, he was one 
of the parliamentary visitors of the university of Oxford. 
During his sitting in the Long Parliament, he was very 
zealous for the presbyterian cause ; hut when the inde- 
pendents began to gain the ascendant, shewed himself a 
warm opposer of them, and promoted the king's interest. 
He made a long speech in the Rouse of Commons, con- 
cerning the satisfactoriness of the king's answers to the 
propositions of peace ; and for that cause was, two days 
after, refused entrance into the House by the army. This 
remarkable speech he published in a quarto pamphlet, with 
an appendix, in which he informs us, that '^ being uttered 
with much pathetique seriousnesse, and heard with great 
attention, it gave such generall satisfaction to the House, 
that many members, formerly of a contrary opinion, pro- 
• fessed, they were both convinced and converted ; others, 
who were dubious in the point of satisfaction, that they 
were now fully confirmed ; most of different opinion put 
to a stand ; and the majority of the House declared,^ both 
by their chearefuU countenances and speeches (the Speaker 
going into the withdrawing-roome to refresh himselfe, so 
soon as the speech was ended) that they were abundantly 
satisfied by what had been thus spoken. After which the 
Speaker resuming the chair, this speech was seconded by 
many able gentlemen; and the debate continuing Satur- 
day, and all Monday and Monday night, till about nine 
of the clock on Tuesday morning, and 244 Members stay- 
ing quite out to the end, though the House doores were not 
shut up (a thing never seene nor knowne before in parlia- 
ment) the question was at last put : and notwithstanding 
the generall's and whole armie's march to Westminster, and 
menaces against the members, in case they voted for- the 
treaty, and did not utterly reject it as unsatisfactory, car- 
ried it in the affirmative by 140 voices (with the foure 
tellers) against 104, that the question should be put; and 
^ then, without any division of the House, it was resolved on 
the question. That the answers, of the king to the proposi- 
tions of both Houses are a ground for the House to pro- 
ceed upon for the settlement of the peace of the kingdom." 
In the course of the speech, he alludes to his services 
and sufferings, adding that " he had never yet received 
one farthing recompense from the king, or any other, 
^though I have waited,' says he, * above eight years at 



^90 PRY NN E. 

yotir dooTi (or jnitice wd reparations^ a)|d negle0ting m^v 
owne. priYfftt^ caUing Q,i^d affaires^ imployec] most- of my^ 
titne, stuclyes, and expended many hundred pounds out of 
my purse^ sin^ce my inlargemeot, to maintain ycfuir cauM 
against the king^ bis popish and prelatical party^ . For alL 
which cost and lahouTi I never yet demanded, nor reeeivejft. 
one farthing from the Houses, nor the least office or pre- 
ferment whatsoever, thoogh they have bestowed diveni^ 
places of honour upon persons of lesse or no desert. Nor> 
did I ever yet receive so much as your publike thaaks fof 
any publike service done you^ (which every preacher, 
usually receives for every sermon preached before yoo^ 
and most others hatve received for the meanest servii:esX 
though I have brought you oflF with honour in the cases of 
Canterbury and Macguire, when you were at a losse iut 
both ;, and cleared the juatnesse of your cause, when it 
was at thd lowest ebb, to most reformed churches abroad 
(who received such satisfaction from my books,' that they 
translated them into several languages), a»d engaged many* 
thousands for you at. home by my writrngs, who were Sotn 
merly dubious and ufisatisBed.'*' 

From this tim^ he became a bitter enemy to the army 
and their leader Croon welt, and attacked them with aamuch 
severity as be had used towards the roysd party, and the 
church. Thus defying Cromwell, in an open manner, be 
was, July 1,1650, committed close prisonier to D.unste( < 
castle in Somersetshire. He then insisted strongly upon 
Magna Charta, and the liberty of the subject; which,' 
though of little weight with Cromwell, seems at last to have 
released him, and taking again to his favourite employ- . 
ment, be wrote abundance of books upon religious contr6?t 
versies and other points. 

In. 1659, being, considered as one of the secluded mem<^ 
hers of the House of Commons, he was .restored to. sit 
again, and, became instrumental in recatliDg Charles IL in 
wbic^ he shewed such zeal, tb&t generid Monk was obliged 
to- check his intemperate and irritating language, as being 
then unseasonable. In 1660 he wa& chosi&h ,for Bath,: to' 
sit in the healing parliament ; and, after the restoraltion, ex* 
pected to have been made One of the barons of the Exche^ 
quer, but this was not thought proper. When the kiog: was 
asked what should be done with Prynne to keep himquie^ 
** Why," said he, " let him anmse. himself with writing 
against thr Catholics, and in^poriiig over the rec6rds iir H 



P R Y N N E. i^^ 

Tt>4rer.*' Aocordirigly he was made chief keepet 6f hia 
majesty's 'records in the Tower, with a salary af SOOlipw 
annuiHh, He was again elected for Bath in 1661 ; md^ 
Jaly tha^ year, being di8conten.ted at some proceeding in 
the Holis0, be published a paper, entitled ^^ Sunday Kea*? 
sons tendered to the most honourable House of Peei^ by 
acMtoe. chtsens and members of London, and other cities^ 
boroughs, corporations, and ports, against the new-in-* 
teaded Bill for gbyernii^g and reforming Corporation!;" 
6f which being discovered to be the author, he was obliged 
tD beg pardon of tb^ House, in order to escape punish^ 
m6tt$« After the restoration, he published several bookd^ 
altogether, with whaCt he had already published, amountiug 
to forty volumes, folio and quarto, a copy of all whiob^ 
bomd together, he presented to the libtary of Lincolii^s- 
Ilin : so that Marchmont Needham was not far from the 
mark, when he called him ^< one of the greatest paper-» 
worms, that ever crept into a closet or library.'.' He died 
al his chambers in LincoinVInn, Oct. 24, 1669, and was 
interred under the chapel there. - 

Prynne has been thought an honest man, tor opposing 
equally Charles, the army, and Cromwell, when he thought 
tltey weite belwayers of the country \ and after having ac^ 
curately obselrved, and sensibly felt, in his own person^,' 
the violation of law occasioned by each of them,, he gave 
his jDost strenuous support to the legal and established 
government oi his country, .effect^ by the restoration of 
Charles II. The earl of Clarendon calls him learned, in 
thpe law, as far as^mere reading of books could make hio» 
learned* His ^orks are all in English; and, ^^ by the 
gedelrality tif scholars,'' says Wood, '^ are looked upon to 
be i*dther rhapsodical and confused, than any way polite 
oreoitckr: yet for antiquaries, critics, and sometimes for 
dhvines, they are useful. In most of them be shews gree^ 
industry, but little judgment, especially in his large folio^ 
against the pope's usurpations. He may be well entitledl 
* voktrainous Prynne,' as Tostatus Abulensis was, two bun-, 
dred years before his time, called * voluminous Tostatus;' 
few I verily believe, that, if rightly computed, he wrote ar 
sheet for every day of his life, reckoning from the time 
when he came to the use of reason and the state of man." 
Many of his works have lately been in request, and have 
been purchased at high prices. Whether they are mor^ 
read than before, is not so certaii^; but much curious mat- 



352 , P R Y N N K 

ter might be extracted by a patient and laborious reader/ 
which would .throw li^ht on the controversies and cha- 
racters of the times. He was himself perhaps one of the 
most indefatigable students. He read or wrote during the 
whole day, and that he might not be interrupted, bad no 
regular meals, but took, as be wanted it, the humble re- 
freshment of bread, cheese, and ale, which were at hii 
elbow. 

His greatest work goes under the title of "Records," 
in 3 vols, folio; another is called " Parliamentary WritSy" 
in four parts, 4 to. He likewise published " Sir Robert 
Cotton's Abridgment of the Tower Records, with amend- 
ments and additions," folio; and, ^^Observations on the 
fourth part of Coke's Institutes," folio. * 

PRZIPCOVIUS (Samuel), a Polish knight, and Soci- 
riian writer, was born about 1 592, and siudied at Altdorf, 
until his adherence to the Socinian tenets obliged him to 
remove to I.eyden. On his return to Poland, he was ad- 
vanced to several posts of honour, and made use of his in- 
fluence to encourage the Socinians in propagating their 
opinions, and establishing churches in the Polish territories. 
He also wrote ** A History of their Churches," but the 
wort was lost, when, in 1658, his disciples were banished 
from their country. Przipcovius procured an asylum 
with the elector of Brandenburg, who gave him the ap- 
pointment of privy-counsellor; and in 1663 a synod of 
Unitarians, held in Silesia, selected him as their corre- 
spondent with their brethren in other nations, with a view 
of promoting the interests of the community. He died in 
1670, at the age of 78. His works were' published in 1692, 
folio, and may be considered as the seventh volume of the 
collection entitled ** Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum." ' 

PSALMANAZAR (George), the assumed name of a 
very extraordinary person, was undoubtedly a Frenchman 
born : he bad his education partly in a free-school, taught 
by twQ Frknciscan monks, and afterwards in a college of 
Jesuits in an archiepiscopal city ; the name of which, as' 
also of his birth-place and of his parents, remain yet in- 
violable secrets. Upon leaving the college, he was recom-. 

^ Biog. Brit. Supplement.-r-Geo. Diet, where is a fuller account of his Work*. 
Ath. Ox. vol. 11. — Mr. D'Israeli, in his •* Calamities," has a curious chapter on 
Prynne's character, sufferings, and oddities.— Se^vard's Anecdotes.— Letters bj 
eminent Persons, IS 1 3, 3 vols. 8 ro. . , . 

^ Life pre&xf d to his works.— Moreri. 



I> S A L M A N A Z An. SU 

vnepded as a tutor to a young gentteman, but sQod Mi 
into a mean rambling kind of life, that led him into mdojr 
disappointments and i^isfortanes. The ftrsit pretence he 
took up with was that of being a sufferer for religion ; and, 
be prqcured a certificate that he was of Irish extraction^ 
bad left the country for the sake of the Roman CathoHc 
religion, and was going on a. pilgrimage to Rome. Not 
bei|)g in a condition to purchase a pilgrim's garb, he had 
ob#erved| in a chapel dedicated to. a miracnious satnt, that 
such a one hud been set up as a monument of gratitude to 
aome wandering pilgrim ; and be contrived to take both 
staff and cloak away at noori-day. ^.^ Being thus acooui* 
tred,*' says he» ^^ and furnished with a pass, I began, at 
all proper places, to beg my way in a fluent Latin ; accost^ 
ing only clergymeui or persons of figure, by whom I 
could be undenstood : and found them nu)stly so generouft 
and credulous, that I might easily have saved money, au4 
put myself into a muich better dress, before I had gone 
tbrougb a scoie or two of miles. But so powerful was 
my vanity and extra vaganccy thai as soon as I had got 
what i thought a sufficient viaticum, I begged no more ; 
but viewed every tUng worth seeing, . and then retired to 
•ome ian, wbere I spent ^y money as freely as I had ob«> 
Gained iu^' 

At the age of sixteten, when be was in Germany, be hit 
upon the wild project of passing for a Formosan. He re» 
.collected, that be bad heard the Jesuits speak much of 
Cbin:a and Japan ; and was rash enough to think, that what 
be wanted of a right knowledge, be might make up by the 
strength of a pregnant invention, which here, it must be 
coofessiedt found ample scope for einployqient. He set 
bimself to form a new character and language, a grammar, 
a divisipn of the year into twenty months, a new religiojv^ 
and wbatever else was necessary to support the deceit. 
Hia alphabet was written from right to left like the Orieo- 
tal tongues; and he soon inured bis hand to write it with 
great readiness. He now thought bimself suflSciently pre- 
pared to pass for a Japanese converted to Christianity:; 
be altered bis Avignon certificate as artfully as he could ; 
re*assumed his old pilgrim's habit, and began bis tour, 
though with a heavy heart, to th^ Low Countries. Under 
the notion of a Japanese converted by some Jesuit mis^ 
siooarieSf and brought to Avignon to be instructed by 
theoif «« wel) as to avoid the dreadful punishments inflicted 
on converts by the emperor of Japan, be travelled several 

Vol. XXV. A a 



354 P S A L M A N A Z A R. 

hundred leagues, with an appearance, however, so dismd 
andsbabby, as to exceed even the common beggars. . 

At Liege he enlisted into the Dutch service, and was 
carried by his officer to Aix-la-Chapelle. He afterwards 
entered into the elector of Gologne^s service ; but being 
still as ambitious as ever to pass for a Japanese, he now 
choice to profess himself an unconverted or beatheBisb ooa, 
rather* than, what he had hitherto. pretended to be, a con- 
vert to Christianity : The last garrison he came to wai 
Sluys, where brigadier Lauder, a Scotch colonel, - in tro^ 
duced him to the chaplain, with whom be was permitted 
to have a conference; and this, at length, ended in tbt 
chaplain's fervent zeal to make a convert of him, by way 
of recommending himself, as it afterwards turned out, to 
Compton, bishop of London, whose piety could not fail of 
rewarding so worthy an action. By this time Psalmanazar, 
growing tired of the soldier's life^ listened to the chaplain's 
proposal of taking him over to England ; and he was, acncord* 
ingly, with great haste, baptized. - A letter of invitation 
from the bishop of London arriving, they set out for Rot-- 
terdam. Psalmanazar was, in general, much caressed 
there; but some there were, who put such shrewd ques- 
tions to him, as carried the air of not giving all that credit 
which he could have wished. This threw him upon a 
;whimsical expedient, by way of removing all obstacles, viz. 
that of living upon raw flesh, roots, and herbs : and he soo6 
habituated himself, he tells us, to this new and stranga 
food, without receiving the least injury to his health ; takf 
ing care to add a good deal of pepper and spices, by way 
of concoction. 

At his arrival in London he was introduced to the good 
bishop, was received with great humanity, and soon found 
a large circle of friends among the welUdisposed, both of 
clergy and laity. ^^ But/' says he, *< I had a much greater 
number of opposers to combat with; who, though they 
judged rightly of me in the main, were far from being 
candid in their account of the discovery (hey pretended to 
make to my disadvantage : particularly the doctors Halley, 
Mead, and Woodward. The too visible eagerness of these 
gentlemen to expose me at any race for a cheat, served 
only to make others think the better of me, and even to 
look upon me as a kind of confessor ; especially as those 
gentlemen were thoiight to be no great admirers rof Reve- 
lation, to which my patrons thought I bad given so ample 
a testimony." Before be had been three months in LoDdoif« 



P S A L M A N A Z A R. SiS 

be was cried up for a prodigy. He was presently sent to 
translate the churcb-catecbism into the Foroiosan lan- 
guage; it was received by the bishop of London with 
0BLi\dQiiT, the author rewarded with generosity, and his 
catechism laid up amongst the most curious manuscripts. 
It was examined by the- learned ; they found it regular and 
grammatical; and gave it as their opinion, that it was a real, 
language, and no counterfeit After such success, he was 
«oon prevailed upon to write the well-known ^^ History of 
Formosa," which soon after appeared. The first ediiiou 
bad not been long published, before a second wus called 
for. In the mean time, he was sent by the good bishop to^ 
Oscford, to pursue such studies as suited his own inclinattion 
most ; whilst his opposers and advocates in London were 
disputing about the merits and demerits of his book. 

The learned at Oxford were not less divided in their 
opinions. A convenient apartment was, however, assigned 
him in one of the colleges ; he had all the advantages of 
teaming which the university could afford him, and a 
learned tutor to assist him. Upon his return to London, 
he continued, for about ten years, to indulge acourse of 
idleness and extravagance. Some absurdities, however, 
observed in his " History of Formosa," in the end effec- 
tually discredited the whole relation, and saved him the 
trouble, and his friends the mortification, of an open con- 
fession of his guilt. He seemed, through a long course. 
of itfe, to abhor the imposture, and in his latter days ex- 
hibited every demonstration of penitence. He was a maa 
of considerable talents in conversation, and Dr. Johnson, 
who associated much with him at one time, had even a 
profound respect for him. His learning and ingenuity, 
during the remainder of his life, did not fail to procure 
him a comfortable subsistence from his pen : he was conf- 
cerned in compiling and writing works of credit, particu^i- 
larly the ** Universal History," and lived exemplarily for 
«nany years. His death happened Tuesday, May 3, 1763, 
at his lodgings in Ironmonger- row. Old-street, in theeighty- 
fdurth year of his age. 

*In bis' last will and testament, dated Jan. 1, 1762, he 
declares, that he bad long since disclaimed, even publicly, 
jbII but tbe shame and guilt of his vile imposition, and 
orders his body to be buried wherever he' happens to die, 
in the day-time, and in the lowest and cheapest manner. 
*^ It is my earnest request,*' says he, " that my body be 
not ju^closed in any kind of coffin, but only decently laid 

A A 2 



\ 



' »56 P S A L M A N A Z A R. 

to v^hat is commonly called a slielly of the lofv>eat vtAaei 
and without lid or other coveriqg, which may fain^t^ the; 
natural earth from covering it all around," ^ 
. PSELLUS (Michael Constantinus), the younget^ a 
Greek physician, matbea;iatfcal writer, critic, and com*- 
mentator of the writings of the classic ages, floariahett 
sibout 1 105. He is, for his va(rioas and eiCtensive learntog, 
ranked among the first scholiasts of his timie. He com- 
mented and explained no less than twenty-four plays of 
Menander, which, though now lost, were efxtant in his 
lime. The emperor Constantine Docas made him ptare* 
eiB^ptor to his son Michael^ who succeeded to the crown in 
1071. His principal works are, i, ** De Quatuor MaChe^ 
maticis Scientiis," Bas. 15£6, Sro. 2. ** De .Lapidwai 
Virtutibus," Tol. 1615, 8vo. 3. « De ViotCte tatione,'* 
in 2 books, Bale, 1529, 8vo. 4. << Synopsis Legutn, ver- 
sibus GroBcis edita,'' Paris, 1632. Leo Allatius has wrtt^ 
ten a treatise de Psellis, Rome, 1634, 8vo, which contains 
an account of all the authors of the name of PsdUus. One 
of them, Michael Psellus the Elder, who flourished in ibe 
ninth century, was aothorof "De Opdratione DceinonunH^' 
Gr. & Lat< Pari&, 1623, which has been improperly given 
to the preceding author.* 

PTOLEMY (Claudius)/ a great geographer, matbe^ 
matician, and astronomer of antiquity, was bOrn at Peln-* 
sium, in Egypt, about the year 70, and flourished in the 
reigns of Adrian and Marcus Antoninus. He tells 4is him-^ 
self, in one place, that hb made a great >namber bf ob- 
servations upon the fixed stars at Alekaadria, in the se- 
eond year of Antoninus Pius; and in another, that he 
obsertred an eclipse of the moon in the ninth year of Adrian^ 
whence it is reasonable to conclude that -this astrdnomier'a 
observations Dpon the heavens were made between A* D^ 
125, and A. D. 140. Hence appears the error df aome 
authors in supposing that this Claadiua Ptolemy was -the 
same with the astrologer Ptolemy, who constantly attended 
Galba, promised Otbo that he should survive Nero, and 
iiftervyards that he should obtain the empire; which is aa 
improbable as what Isidorus, an ecdesiaatical writer of 
the seventh century, and some moderns after htm, have as^ 
aerted; namely, that this astronomer was one of the kings 

1 Memoirs by himself, Swo. 

3 Boa/ 4e Qfmea lUuit,— Bnicte<— Vmiut dc Scirat MftO^-^Savi Onta^- 



F T O t. It B^ Y; i&% 

4C SgypA* We. knaw no ^ir cunui^nGes of tb^ life q£ Pto^ 
I^fpy ; bmb k i^ HQted in bi& Capon, tjiat ADtpoinus Piua 
«eigi|/B4 thr^«>aB4-» twenty y^ar^*, which shews tbiit himseU 

SGi«pn(^eUgi;ea4j.y, Indebted tQ Uii» astronomer, who ba^ 
famf^W^i ad^idf ii^aiOea^t^ to u^ tbQ observations and prin- 
oijpai dif^Qfr^riiS^iOf tk^ anciei^l^, s^id atthesame time augn 
qmiled and enriched tj^m with Us own. He corrected 
ftigpaffcbi^'si catalogv^ of tbe fissed at^r^j^ and formed, 
tfl^l^ hy whi«b the mcOiti^ps of the s^J}|. moon, aiid planets^, 
viil^l h« i^aloul^ted a^id regulated. He was indeed tb^ 
4rs(i who epUseiQted.tbe spattered and detached observations o£ 
the an^iewils, ^nd digesjted them iato a system ;. ^ich he set 
for^ in hia ^^ 14^4^11 (rwraiiSy sive Magna Consti:uctiOy'% di* 
^ided into tjbi^rteeQ books, and which has be^o called firomi 
hii^i^ the Ptolemaic system, tp distinguish it from those o£ 
Cop^nicm^^ and Tycbo Brahe. About the year &27, this 
^oirk was translated by the Arabians into their Jangoage^ 
iQ viAiiiah it. was called " Almagestum/' by (he command, 
Q^ Q9^ pf tbeic kinga; and from Arabic into Latin, abo^t 
].f^0, UAdeir the encouragemeoit pf fbe emperor Frede-* 
rjc tl. Tbeiie were othei^ Ter§ions froo^ the , Arabic into 
Latin ; and a manuscript of one, done by Girardu^ Cre« 
uioppnsfi^f v^hp flpMrisbed about the middle of the four- 
te#pth cf^^tuiy, is sa^d by. Fabciciu^ to bp atiU extant, and^ 
iA,the librajcy of All Spt^js 4|ollegie at O^ord. The Greek, 
tei^t begatxto he read kt ^i^rppe in the fifteentb .century ; 
and w^ &ir^t published by Simoi^ Qryoesus, at Basil, ISSB^ 
in fplio, wijtb the elev^ books^ of coinmeutaries by Theon, 
who flpurisbed at Ale^fandria in the reign of the elder Theo- 
dpsiua*. In )4S4, it ^as reprinted at Basil, with a Latin, 
^jier^w by Gppi^gina Trapezuntius ; and again at the same 
plaQein i55l, with the addition of other works of Pto- 
biay, to which are Latin, versions by Camei^ariu^- We 
lep^a frpof Kepler, that this last edition was used by 
Tycbo. * 

. This priQcipj^l work of the an^cient astronomers is found- 
ed pppn the hypothesis of the earth's being at rest in t&e 
i^fiafre pf the unkers^) and that the heavenly bpdii^s, t]|tQ 
s^a SH^ f^l^nels, all wove around it in solid orbs, whose 
^^ipua^re aU directed "^y Qme, which Ptolemy called the 
pfiift^m imbikf or fir^t mover, of which he discoursea ^ 
large. Jn the ftrst bopk, Ptolemy shews, that the earth v^ 
s|i4l^ ^fiUre<^ ^hP^orH ^9/ the upiverte iM^fi ^ 



358 P TO L E M Y. 

he understood it : he represents the earth as of a spherical 
figure, and but as a ppint in comparison of the rest of the 
heavenly bodies : he treats concerning the several circles 
of the earth, and their distances fro'm the equator ; as also 
of the right and oblique asciension of the heavenly bodies 
iii a right sphere. In the 2d book, he treats of the habit- 
able part^ of the earth ; of- the elevation of the pole in an 
oblique sphere, and the various angles which the several 
circles make with the horizon, according to tlie different 
latitude of places ; ' also of the phsBnomena of the heavenly 
bodies depending on the same, ' In the 3d book, he treats 
of the quantity of the year, and of the unequal motion of 
the sun through the zodiac: he here gives the method of 
computing the mean mbtion of the sun, with tables of the 
same ; and likewise treats of the inequality of days and 
nights. In the 4th book, he treats of the lunar motions, 
^nd their various phaenomena : he gives tables for finding 
the moon's mean motions, with her latitude and longitude ; 
he discourses largely concerning lunar epicycles ; and by 
comparing the times of a great number of eclipses, men*, 
tioned by Hipparchus, Calippus, and othcfrs, he has com- 
puted tjhe places of the sun and moon, according to their 
mean motions, from the first year of Nabonazar, king of 
.Egypt, to his own time. ' In the 5th book^ he treats of the 
instrument called the astrolabe : he treats also of the ec- 
centricity of the lunar orbit, and the inequality of the 
ihobn's motion, according to her distance from the sun : 
he also gives tables, and an universal canon for the inequa- 
lity of the lunar motions : he then treats of the different 
aspects or phases of the moon, and gives a computation of 
the diameter of the sun and moon, with the magnitude of 
the sun, moon, and earth, compared together.; he states 
also the different measures of the distance of the sun and 
fnoon, according as they are determined by ancient ma- 
thematicians and philosophers.^ In the 6th book, he treats 
of the conjunctions and oppositions of tbe sun and inoon, 
with tables for computing the nSean time when they hap- 
pen ; of the boundaries of solar and lunar eclipses ; of the 
tables and methods of computing the eclipses of the sun 
and moon, with many other particulars. « In the seventh 
book, he treats of the'fixed stars; and shews the methods 
of describing them, in th@ir various constellations, on the 
surface of an artificial sphere or globe : he rectifies the 
places of the stars to his own time^ and shews how differettt 



P T O L E M Y. p9 

those places w^re then, from whttfc they bad been in tbe 
times of Tiqiiocbaris, Hipparchus, Aristillus, Calippus, and 
others : be then lnys down a catalogue of the stars in each 
of the northern constellations, with their latitude, longi- 
tucje, and magnitudes. In the 8th book, he gives a like 
catalogue of the stars in tbe constellations of the southern 
be.mispbere, and in the 12 signs or constellations of tbe 
eodiac. This is tbe first, catalogue of the stars now extant^ 
and forms tbe most valuable part of Ptolemy's works. He 
then trefits of the . galaxy, or inilky-way ; also of tbe pla- 
netary aspects, with tbe rising and setting of tbe sun, 
tnoon, and stars. In the 9th book, be treats of the order 
of tbe. sun, moon, and planets, with tbe periodical revolu* 
tions of tbe five planets ; then he . gives tables of the mean 
motions, beginning with the theory of Mercury, and shew- 
ing its various phenomena with respect to tbe earth. The 
10t;h book begitis with the theory of the planet Venus^ 
treating of its greatest distance from, the sun ; of its epi- 
cyclej eccentricity, and periodical motions : it then threats 
of tbe same particulars in the planet Mars. The 1 ith book 
treats of tbe same circumstances in the theory of the pla* 
,aet$ Jupiter and Saturn. It. also corrects all tbe planetary 
potions from observations made fro.m jthe tinae of Nabo- 
ji^zar to bis own. The 1.2th book treats of the retrogres- 
sive motion, of the several planets; giving also tables of 
^their^ stations, and of tbe greatest .distances of Venus and 
Mercury from- tbe sun. Tbe I3tb book treats of tbe se- 
veral hypotheses of the latitude of tbe five planets ; of the 
.greatest latitude, or inclination of the orbits of. the five 
.planets, which are computed and disposed in tables; of 
:the rising and setting of the planets^ with tables of them. 
Then follows a conclusion or winding up of tbe whole work. 
This gr^at work of- Ptolemy will always be valuable 6n 
account of tbe observations be gives of tbe places of tbe 
.stars and planets in former times, and acording to ancient 
philqsopbers and astronomers that were then extant; but 
.principally on account of the large and .curious catalogue 
,of the stars, which being compared with their places at 
iprissent, we thence deduce .the true quantity of their slow 
.progressive motion according to the order of tbe signs^ or 
of the precession of the equinoxes. 

, . Another great and important work of Ptolemy was, bis 

<< Geography,'^ in 7 books ; in which, with bis usual saga- 

v^ity^ be searches; out and marks .the situatiop of placen 



I^« FT OLEMTi 

according to th«ir faitUunles and longitudes ; ftnd be Was tlMI 
fint that did sa Though this work must needs faH Mf 
short of perfection, through the want of necessai^y- ebter*^ 
vatiofis^ yet it is of considerable merit, and has been very 
Qsefurl to modern geographers* Cellarius indeed suspectSi 
and he was a very competent judge, that Ptotenry did not 
use all the care and application which the nature of fari* 
work required ; and his reason is, that the author delivery 
hifnsel^ with the same ^uency and appearance of certainty,^ 
concerning things and places at che remotesjt distaYieei 
which it was impossible he could know any thing of, dun^ 
be does concerning those which lay the nearest to him, and 
fall the most under bis cognizance. Salmasius had beford 
made soqae remarks to the sam^e purpose upon this work of 
Ptolemy. The Greek (e:st of this work was first pablMied 
by itself at Basil in 1533, in 4to; afterward, with a Latin 
version and notes, by Qeravd Mercator at Amsterdam, in 
% 605 ; which last edition was reprinted at the same place, 
tn )618, folio, with neat geographical tables by Bertius.' 
' Other works of Ptolemy, though less considerable thaur 
these twoy are still ecstant. As, *^ Libri quatuor de Judi^ 
Kiiis Astroruin,"' upon the first two books of which Cardan 
^wrote a commentaiy. ** Fructus Libroruiu suorum ;^' % 
kind of sapplement to the former work. ^' Recensio Cbn^ 
'^ologioa Regum :" this> with another work ef Ptol^aly^ 
^^De Hypotbesibos Planetarum," was pnblisbed in 1^600, 
4to, by John Bainbridge, tb^ Saviltan prefessdr Of astro^f 
tidmy at Oxford ; and Scaliger, Petavius, Dodwell, -^and 
the other chronological writers, have made great use of it. 
*^ Apparentifie Stellarum' Inerrantium "^ Ifhis was ptiblished 
•ft Paris by Petavius, with a Latin vei^idn, 16$0, folio ; belt 
'A'om a mutilated copy, the defects of which bietve since be^ 
'supplied from a perfect one, which sir Henrj* SaarHlebad 
•communicated to archbishop Usher, by Fabricius, in dl^ 
8d volume of his *^ BiUiotheca Gneca.^' << Elemeritomtti 
Hannonieorum libri tf es ;'- published in Greek and Latiiiy 
with a commentary by Porphyry the philosppber, by Dr. 
Wallis at Oxford, ili 1692, 4te; and afterwards reprtnted 
'tfaeri^, and inser^d in the 3d Volume of Wallis'i$ works, in 
'f6(^9, folioi Of this work Dr. Burnfey has such an opi- 
nion as to say, that Pmletny- ranks as high amongst me 
great writers of antiquity for his Harmonics, pr ^beery of 
lound, as for his Almageit'ahd 'Geography. 

MabiHon eshHbKts^ in his ^< German Traveki"^ #n ^tf 



PTOLEMY.. $61 

tti Ptalemy looking at the stars through an optical tube { 
which effigy, he says^ be found in a manuscript of the 
tbhteentfa century, made by Conradas a monk. Hence 
some hare fancied, that the use of the telescope wa$ 
known to Conradus. But this is only matter of mere Q0n^ 
jsoture, there being no fkets or testimonies, nor even pre^ 
haUlitiea, to support such an opinion. It is rather likely 
dwt the tube was nothing more than a plain open one; 
iemployed to strengthen and defend the eye-sight, wheA 
looking.at particular stars, by excluding adventitious rays 
lipom other stars and objects ; a contrivanoe which no ob- 
server of the heavenly can ever be supposed to have been 
witbeut.^ 

PTOLEMY, of Lucca, an ecclesisistical historian in th^ 
fourteenth' century, was descended from a nc^le family, 
lifom whom he <lerited the name of ** Bariholomew Fia^ 
^ni,'^ but took that of Ptoleeiy when he entered into 
4the order of 6t. Domtnic. He became suplerior of the 
monastery both at Lucca and Florence. He was aftei^ 
irards selected by pope John XXII. as bis confossor, tod in 
4318 he was made bisiiop of Torcetio, under the pacriifcbate 
lof Venice. This prelate died in 1327. He was the first 
of the Italians who studied and wrote on cfhnrch history* 
-tits ^* AnnaW extend from 1060 to 1S03, and was pub^ 
lished at Lyons in 1619. His largest work was << Historic 
Ecclesiasticse,'' in twehty-feiur brooks, cominencing with 
-the birth of Jesus Christ, and brought down to 1313. 
This, after remaining long in MS. was at length published 
3t Milan in 1729^ by Mui^teri^ in his grand coliectioiy, 
eotiiled ^^ Remm ItaHearum Scrvptores.^ * 

PUBLIUS SlfEUS, an ancient Latin anthor, wfab 
^gained great feme by his oomic pieces caHed <* Mimes,** 
as supposed from his name to have been a Syrian by birth. 
Having been made a slave and brought to Rome wfaeti 
young, he there obtained bis libetliy by his merit; and 
l^roved so eseeilent a composer of Mimes, thiit the Ro^ 
'mans preferred him to the best of their own or the Greek 
dramatic writers. J-ulios Csssar first estai>lisbed his repo« 
'tation, and gare him the prize of poetry against i^^i^berius, 
•who was an eminent writer in that style, and co^^i^ded 
with Syrus for it. He continued to fiourish many years 

« Fabric. Bibl Grsc^Hutton^s Matli, DieW— Inrne^'s Bist^T M^ftc^rSMli 
Onemast. 
f. Cave, ToJ. II.— 'DupiD.— Moreri. 



S62 , P U B. L I U S S Y R U S. 

under Augustus. Cassius Se%'erus was a professed addfiirer 
of hioi, and the two Senecas speak of faim with the highest 
encoi^iuips. Many moderns, and particularly the Scali* 
gers, have launched out very much' in his praise. They 
say, he stripped Greece of all her wit, fine turns, and 
agreeable raillery ; and that his ^* SeotentisB^' include the 
substance of the doctrine of the wisest philosophers. These 
'^ Sentences'' were extracted from his mimic pieces some 
time under the Antonines, as the best editors say. They 
are generally printed with the *^ Fables of Phsedrus," and 
are subjoined to them by Dr. Bentley, at the end of his 
edition of ." Terence," in 1726, 4to. There is also a se* 
parate edition of them by Gruter, with copious notes, 
Leyden, 1708, 8vo.' 

PUFFENDORF (Samuel), an eminent German civilian 
and historian, was born in 1631 at Fls&h, a little village 
hear Chemnitz, in Upper Saxony, of which village 
his father, the descendant of a Lutheran family, Elias 
.Puffendorf, was minister. He discovered an early propen- 
sity to letters, wlien at the provincial school at Grimm, 
and at a proper age was sent to Leipsic, where he was 
supported by the generosity of a Saxon nobleman, who 
was pleased with his promising talents, his father's circum- 
stances not being equal to the expence. ' His father de« 
signed him for the ministry, andsdirected hin^ to apply 
himself to divinity ; but his inclination led his thoughts to 
the public law, which, in Germaiiy, consists of the know- 
ledge of the rights of the empire over the states and princes 
of which it is composed, aad of those of the princes and 
states with respect to each other. . He considered this study 
as a proper method of advancing ip some of the. courts of 
Germany, where the several princes wha compose the 
Germanic body,. were accustomed to have no other ministers 
of state than men of learning, whom they styled counsellors, 
.and whose pjrincipal study was the public law of Germany. 
As these posts were not venal, and no other recommenda- 
tion necessary to obtain them but real and distinguished 
luerit, PufFendorf resolved to qualify himself for the 
^honours to which he aspired. After he had resided some 
time at Leipsic, He left that city, and went to Jena, where 
bfe joined mathematics and the Cartesian philosophy to the 
study of the law. He returned to Leipsic in 1658, with a 
*view of seeking an employment fit for him. One of h\s 

1 Vosiios de Poet. Lat^-Fabric. Bibl. Lat. 



P U F F E N D O R F. 363 

brothers, named Isaiah, who ' had been some time in the 
service of the king of Sweden, and was afterwards his 
chancellor in the duchies of Bremen and Werden, then 
wrote to him, and advised him not to fix in his own country, 
but after his example to seek his fortune elsewhere. In 
compliance with this advice, he accepted the place of go* 
vernor to the son of Mr. Cqyet, a Swedish nobleman, who 
was then ambassador from the king of Sweden at the court 
of Denmark. For this purpose he went to Copenhagen, but 
the war being renewed some time after between Denmark 
and Sweden, he was seized with the whole family of the 
ambassador, who himself escaped in consequence of iiaving 
a few days before taken a tour into Sweden. 

During his confinement, which lasted eight months^ a» 
he had no books, and was allowed to see no person, he 
amused himself by meditating upon what he had read in 
Grotius^s treatise *^ De jure belli & pacis,'* and in the po« 
litical writings of Hobbes. He drew up a short system of 
what he thought best in them ; he turned and developed 
the subject in his own way ; he treated of points which 
had not been touched by those authors ; and he added much 
ibAt was new. In all. this be appears to have had no other 
objfe'ct than to divert himself in his solitude ; but two years 
after, shewing his work to a friend in Holland, where he 
then was, he was advised to review and publish it. It ap- 
peared accordingly at the Hague in 1660, under. the title 
of " Elementorum Juri^prudentise Universalis libri duo;** 
and gave rise to his more celebrated work ^' De ju^e na- 
turae & gentiunl.'' The elector Palatine, Charles Louis, 
to whom he had dedicated the >< Elements,*' not only wrote 
bim immediately a lettier of thanks,* but invited him to the 
university of Heidelberg, which he was desirous of' restor- 
ing to its former lustre ; and founded there, in his favour, 
a professorship of the law of nature and nations: which 
was the first of that kind in Germany, though many have 
since been established in imitation of it. The elector en- 
gaged him also to allot soine portion of his time to the in- 
struction of the electoral prince, his son. . PufFendorf re- 
mained at Heidelberg till 1670, when Charles XI. king of 
Sweden, having founded an university , at Lunden, sent 
for him to be professor there : and thither, to the great 
concern of the elector Palatine, he. went the same year, 
and was installed professor of the law of nature and nations. 
His reputation greatly increased after that time, both by 



364 P U F F ENDO R F. 

the &me and success of bis teetui^^ Itrtd by th» nlMjr 
iraluable works, that he pubUsbed. Soom years ikCter^ ibe 
kiog of Sinp^den sent for him to> Stockholm » and laade hiiii^ 
bis historiofffapher, and one- of bis couosellora. In |6S8» 
the elector ef Brandenberg obiained the coQsenit oi t^ 
king of Sweden for Puffendorf to ga lo Berlin^ in ofd/^r %o 
Mftittr the history of the elector AViUiam the Great ; aiid 
granted biok the same titles of historiographer and privy^ 
<^4flseUor, which he bad in Sweden, with a considerable- 
pension. The king of Sweden also continued %o giire him 
marks of bis favour, and made him a baron in l€t94i« ^BijA 
he did not long enjoy the title ; for he died the saime ye^r^ 
of a morjtification in one of his toes, occasieoed by cutting, 
tbe »aiL He was as much distipguisbed by the purily of 
bia morals, and the rectitiide of his eonduei, as by tbet 
superiority of his talenitSy and the celebrily of bis numerow 
writings. 

We have ah^eady mentioned his ficst woik ; bia secood 
was, 2* ^* De Statu Gerasanici Imperii liber unusy'' which 
he pwblished io 1667, under tbe (tame of " Se^rini di. 
Mosambano," with |l dedication to bis brother Isaac Puf- 
fendorf, whom he styles <^'L»Uq Sagnor de Treaolaei/' 
Puifendotf sent it the year before to his brother, then am-p 
kasaador from the court of Sweden to xbu> of FfMcei- in: 
oader to .have it prinked in that kingdom. His brother, 
offered it bo a bookseller, who gave it Meseray to peruseti' 
Mezeray thought- it worth printing, yet refused bia appro^ 
batioD, on accOuot pf som« passages opposite to tbe ini^r^ 
e»ts of Fnmce, and of others in which tbe pxiests Md. 
monks were severely treated. • Isaac Pufibndorf then sent; 
it to Geneva, where it was printed in 12nv). Tbe d^siga 
of tbe author was to. prove that Germany waa a kind of re-» 
public, tbe constituent members of which being ill-proper- 
ttoned, formed a. monstroua whole. The book and its doc-» 
trine, therefore, met with' greet opposition ; it was con-^ 
derailed, prohibited, and seized in many parts of Germany; 
and written against immediately .by seveml learned civili*^ 
ai^ It underwent many ediitioes, and was translated inia 
IMny languages; and, among the rest, into English by 
Ikir. Bphun, 1696, in 12me. > tfi. *^ De Jure Nature; ifc. 
Geaii^m," Leyden, 1612, 4to« Thiat^PuflEendorf sgreateiBti 
MTork ; and. it has met withfn universal apprebation* It ia» 
indeed, m body of the law of jiamre, well digffli^d ; afid»: 
a| aeime ^kiak^ pneferahla tn .Qrotius'a tv^ok ^ Oe Jurg 



F tr F FE N D O R,F; Wt 

Belli •& Pacif,'' simie the -same snbj^Mi ar6 lre»ted in s 
910)16' e»teiieiv« aia«»iHsr, and •with jgfeater order* Itwas- 
uan^ated i»to Fretiok by fiarbayrac, who wrote large Qbie» ^ 
»od>an intFoduceorydiscoiarse, m 1706; and into English^ 
mth' BarbicyriK^'s notes, by Dr> Baail ICeonet annl othenv 
in 17pS. The fotirtfa and ^fth edition of tbe EngUfth l)ra<is«^ "* 
ktiMi'liaii^e Mr. Barbey vac's ini^Foduetory discourBe^ wbicfa 
itt not i« the tbree forrnen. Jiitiie cnean time Puffendoxf ' 
was oUig^d ^ defend tbis work >agiun8t several cetisurers ; 
tbe imoflSt enraged olt wlijoni was N^bolas BecjfimaQ, bis 
eoUetgue in the univeBsity of Lunden. This writer, in 
order to gifve tbe greater weight to jais ot^ecI'Voni^ eodea** 
Vi^fod to 'draw tke divincis tote bis party, by bdinging v^ 
%i0n iMo tbe dispute, aiid vaccu^ing tfhe author of ^ieteroi* 
dosy^ :His design .in tfais^aa, to exaispenate tbe clecgjr 
of Sweden aigainst Pi^ffendorf; iMit the senators of thai . 
kingdom prevented this, by erKJoiaing^bis enemies, sileno^ 
aod (»it]>pvessi«tg Beckmati's book by tbe king^s euthoraty^ 
U wi^s n^iinted nt Giessen ; and, being brought to Swe4 
den, was burned ia 1<675 by tbe bands of the exeoadohert 
and JBeokman, tbe author,, banished from the king's do^ 
mioiphs for having disobeyed prdera is republishing^ ik> 
Beekeftan now gave his iury fcrll scope, and not e<ily wrote 
if^iruJiefitly and maliciously against Puffendorf, hot likewdse 
ehallefi^ied him to fight a duel : he wrote to bim from Cd-f 
{leilbisgen in that style, and threatened to jpursue him 
Wh^vever be should .go, in oase he did not meetrhini) at -the 
plaee ap|>ointed. Pofiendorf took no notioe of the letter^ but 
sent it %o the consistory of the university : yet thought it 
neoessury to n^y to^ the satirical pieoes of that writer^ 
which be did in sevm^l publications. Ntceron gives a 
gded acoount of this controversy hi tbe r$th vol. of bis 
^* Monioires.'V 

Other works of PufFendorf are : 4. " De ofRcio' Homioi* 
& Crivis juxti legem natti«iileiii,''^ 1 &7 3^ 8 voi This is a very 
elear A««id itietbodicat abridgeioent of his great work 
^' De jure naturae & gentium.'' 5. ^^ Intnoduc^ion to the 
History of Europe," ieB2. With a Gontin^uatien, 1686^ 
end «n Additioe, 1^699, in German ; aCterwards traeslated 
into Latin, Fretioh, Md English. 5. ^^ C'ommentaiiorttta 
de rebus ^SuOcicis libri xxvi« abexpeditieine'Gualtavi.Adoli 
i^i Regis in -GonnaBiam, ad .sJbdioataonem usquq Chrisr 
tinsB," 1686, folio. Puffendorf, having read the public 
papenrin the archives of Swedenv '•^th A design ol thritihg 



%66 



PUFFENDORF. 



the history of Charles Gustavus, according to orders M* 
ceived from Charles IX. thought proper to begiu with that 
of Gustavus Adolphusy and to continue it do^n to the ab- . 
dication of queen Christina: and this he has executed in 
the. present work, which is very curious and exact 6. <' De 
habitu Religionis ChristiaiiaB ad vitam civilem,'' 16S7, 4to« 
In this work an attempt is mad6 to settle the just bounds 
between the ecclesiastical and civil powers. 7. ^* Jus 
Feciale Divinum, sive de consensu & dissensu Protestaa* 
tiuQ^ : Exercitatio Posthuma/' 1695, 8vo. The author here 
proposes a scheme for the re-unionof religions ; and it ap« 
pears from the zeal with which he recommended the prints 
iog of it before his death, that this was his favourite work* 
8. .** De rebus gestis Frederici Wilelmi Magni, Electoris 
Brandenburgici Commentarii,*' 1695, in 2 vols, folio;. ex- 
tracted from the archives of the house of Brandenburg. 
To this a supplement was published from his MS. by count 
Hertsberg in 1783. 9. ^^ De rebus a Carolo Gustavo 
Suecis Rege gestis Commentarii>" 1696, in 2 vols, folio: 
He likewise published ^* An Historical Description of. the 
Politics of the Papal empire," in German, and some works 
of a smaller kind, which, being chiefly polemical, and 
nothing more than defences against ^nvy and personal 
abuse, sunk into oblivion with the attacks which occasioned 
them. His brother Isaiah, meationed above, was born in 
1628, was educated at Leipsic, where he distinguished 
himself, and took the degree of M. A. After various 
changes of fortune, he was made governor of the young 
count of Koningsmark, and was afterwards chancellor of 
the duchy of Bremen. In 1686 be was appointed ambas* 
sador of the king of Denmark to the diet of Ratisbon, and 
died there in 1689. He .is the author of a satirical work, 
entitled *^ Anecdotes of Sweden, or Secret History of 
Charles XI." > 

PULCI (LuiGi), one of the most famous Italian poets, 
was born at Florence, December 3^ 1431. He was of a 
noble family, and was the most poetical of three brothers 
who all assiduously courted the Muses. . His two elder 
brothers, Bernardo and I^uca, appeared as poetSu earlier 
than himself. The first production of the fanoily is proba- 
b\y the Elegy of Bernardo addressed to Loi^enzo de* 
Medici, on the death of his grandfather Cosmo. He also 

. [ Gen. Diet,— MiceroD, toI. XVIII.o^Moreri.'— Cbaufepie. — 3azu Onftmast. 



P U L C I. 261 

wrote an elegy on the untimely death of the beautiful Si- 
fhonetta, mistress of Giultano de^ Medici, the brother of 
Lorenzo, which was published at Florence in 1494, though 
written much earlier. He produced the first Italian trans- 
lation of the Eclogues of Virgil, which appears to have 
been finished about 1470 ; and was published in 1481 ; and 
a poem on the Passion of Christ. Luca wrote a celebrated 
poem on a tournament held at Florence in which Lorenzo 
was victor, in 1468, entitled ^^ Giostra di Lorenzo de^ 
Medici ;*' as Politian celebrated the success of GiulianOj^ 
in his *^ Giostra di Giuliano de* Medici/' It is confessed^ 
however, that the poem of Luca Puici derives its merit 
rather from the minute information it gives respecting the 
exhibition, than from its poetical excellence. "He pro-« 
duced also ** II CirifFo Calvaneo," an epic romance, pro- 
bably the first that appeared in Italy, being certainly prior 
to the Morgante of his brother, and the Orlando Tnnamo- 
rato of Bojardo: and the ** Driadeo d^Amore,'* a pastoral 
romance in ottava rimd. There are also eighteen heroic 
epistles by him in terza r2Vna, the first from LucretiaDonati to 
Lorenzo de Medici, the rest on Greek and Roman subjects. 
These were printed in 1481, and do credit to their author: 
' Luigi appears, from many circumstances, to have lived 
on terms of the utmost friendship with Lorenzo de Medici^ 
who, in his poem entitled ** La Caccla col Falcone," men- 
tions him with great freedom and jocularity. His princi-- 
pal work is the •* Morgante maggiore," an epic romance. 
'Whether this or the Orlando Innamorato of Bojardo was 
first written, has been a subject of doubt. Certain it is that 
the Morgante had the priority in publication, having been, 
printed at Venice in 1488, after a Florentine edition of 
uncertain date; whereas Bojardo^s poem did not appear titl 
1496, and, from some of the concluding lines, appears not 
to have been finished in 1494. The Morgante may there- 
fore be justly, as it is generally, regarded as the proto- 
type of the Orlando Furioso of Ariosto. . It has been said 
without foundation that Ficinus and Politian had a share in 
this composition. It was first written at the particular re- 
quest of Lucretia, mother of Lorenzo de Medici, but it 
was not finished till after her death, which happened in 
' 1482. It is said by Crescimbeni that PuIci was accustomed 
to recite this poem at the table of Lorenzo, in the manner 
of the ancient rbapsodists. This singtitar offspring df the 
wayward genius of Pulci has beeu as immoderately com- 



ae^ p U L c I. 

niended by k9 admirers, as it has been uvreasonably cot(# 
demoed aod degraded by its opponents : and while some 
have not scrupled to prefer it to the productions of Ariosto 
^nd Tassoy others have decried it as vulgar, absCird, anf} 
profane* From the solemnity and devotion with which 
every canto is introduced, some have judged that the auf 
thor meant to give a serious narrative, but the improha** 
bility of the relation, and the burlesque nature of the Iot 
cidents, destroy all ideas of this kind. M, de la Mpunpyf^ 
says that the author^ whom he conceives to have been ig** 
horant of ruleSfhaa confounded the comic and serious «ty]e«| 
&nd made the giant, bis hero, die a burlesque death^. bf 
the bite of a sea- crab in his heel, in the twentieth bo^i^ 
so that in the eight which remain he is not meationedC 
Ybe native simplicity of the narration, he 9dds| covers, ali 
faults ; and the lov^s of the Florentine dialeqt still i:ei^d ^ 
^ with delight, especially when they can procure the editipii 
pf Venice, in 1546 or 1^50, with the explanations of his 
nephew John Pulci. These, however^ are no more thaqi 
a {[lossary of a few words subjoined to each canto. Tber^ 
are also sonnets by Luigi Pulci^ published with those of 
Matteo Franco, in which the twQ authors satirize /e^ch 
other without mercy or delicacy ; yet it is supposed that 
they were very good friepds, and only took these libexti^ 
with each other for the sake of amusing the public. . Tbejr 
were published about the 6fteenth century, entitled ''Sop<^ 
etti di Misere Mattheo Franco et di Luigi Pulci jocosi; el 
fac^tij cioe da ridere.*' No other poem of this author is 
mentioned by Mr. Bosooe, who has given the best accouot 
of him, except ^' La Beca di Dicom^no," written, in iini}a* 
tation and emulation of ^^ La Nencio da Barberino,'^ by 
I^renzo de Medici, and published with.it. Itisapoeo^ 
in the rustic style and language, but instead of the §»ore 
chastised and delicate humour of Lorenso, the poe^i of 
Pulci, says Mr. Roscoe, partakes of the cbaraaer pf hit 
Morgante, and wanders into the burlesque and extrava* 
fi;ant. It has been sujpposed that this poet died about 1487^ 
biit it was probably something later. The exact tiope 19 
not known. ^ . . , 

PULLEN, or PULLU8 (Robert), an English cardinal 
who flourished in the twelfth century, was distinguished s^ 
in zealous friend to the interests of literature. He is placed 

} Rofcoe% Lhsbzo,— ^itt^ene Hist. Lit. d'ltalie. 



P U L L E N. 369 

liy I'uller as a nativie of Oxfordshire, perhaps from his coh- 
nectiori with the university. In his youth he studied at 
Paris, and about 1130 returned to England, where he 
found the university of Oxford ravaged and nearly ruined 
fey the Danes, under the reigrt of HaVold I. and by his 
indefatigable exertions contributed to its restoration. The 
Chronicle of Osny records him as having begun in the 
r^ign of Henry I. to read the Scriptures at Oxford, which 
were grown obsolete, and it is supposed he commented on 
Aristotle. Rouse, the Warwick antiquary, mentions his 
reading the Holy Scriptures, probably about 1134, about 
which time he had a patron in Henry I. who had built his 
palace near the university. For some years he taught daily 
in the schools, and was rewarded with the archdeaconry 
of Rochester. After this he returned to Paris, where he 
filled the chair of professor of divinity. He was, however, 
yecalled by his metropolitan, and the revenues of his bene- 
fice sequestered till be obeyed the summons. The arch-^ 
deacon appealed to the see of Rome, and sentence was 
given in his favour. The fame of his learning induced 
pope Innocent II. to invite him to Rome, where he was 
received with great marks of honour; and in 1144 was 
created cardinal by Celestine II. and afterwards chancellor 
of the Roman church, by pope Lucius II. He died in 
1 150. He was author of several works; but the only one 
of them now extant is his '^ Sententiarum Liber,'^ which 
was published at Paris in 1655. It differs in some measiire 
from the general character of the times ; as \^e prefers the 
simple authority of reason and scripture to the testimony 
of the fathers, or the subtlety of metaphysics. * 

PULMANNU8 (Theodore), properly Poelman, a Dutch 
commentator on the classics, was born at Granenbourg, in 
the Dutchy of Cleves, about 1510. He was bred a fuller, 
but by diligent application became an able scholar, critic, 
and granditiarian. He principally applied himself to the 
correction of the Latin poets from ancient manuscripts, and 
superintended sokie good editions of them at the press of 
Piantifi. He published in 1551 Arator's. History of the 
Acts of the Apostles in Latin hexameters, with hb own 
coirections of the text. Virgil; Lucan, Juvenal, Horace, 
Ausonitts, Claudian^ Terence, Suetonius, and £sop's Fa* 

1 Leland.— -Cave.— Dupin.— Tanner.— Wood's Annah.-^FulIer's Worthitt,— 
Bracker.— Moreri. 

Vol. XXV. Bb 



370 P U L M A N N U S. 

blesy were also edited by hitai/^i^nd the works of St. Patii- 
linus. He is supposed to have died about 1580, at Sala- 
manca, but the cause which led him so far from home we 
cannot assign. ^ 

PULTENEY (Richard), a distinguished botanist and 
ftble physician, was born at Loughborough, Feb. 17, 17S0. 
He first settled as a surgeon and apotheicary at Leices- 
ter ; but having been educated as a Calvinistic dissenter^ 
the people of that town, who chanced to have different pre* 
judices, of course gave him but little support. He strug- 
gled against pecuniary difficultiei^ with economy, and 
shielded his peace of mind against bigotry, in himself or 
others, by looking ^^ through nature, tip to nature's God.'' 
His remarks and discoveries were communicated first to 
the Gentleman's Magazine, in 1750, as well as several sub- 
sequent years ; and he intermixed antiquarian studies with 
his other pursuits. His botanical papers printed by the 
royal society, on the Sleep of Plants, and the Rare Plants 
of Leicestershire, procured him the honour of election intQ 
that learned body in 1762. In 1764 he obtained a diplo- 
ma of doctor of physic from Edinburgh, even without ac- 
complishing that period of residence, then usually required, 
and now indispensable ; and his thesis on the cincfUma offi* 
cinalis amply justified the indulgence of the university* " 

Soon afterwards^ Dr. Pulteney was acknowledged ' as fi 
relation by the earl of Bath, who had incibihed a favourable 
opinion of his talents ; which circumstances induced, him 
to attach himself to that nobleman as travelling physician. 
His lordship unfortunately died soon after, on which the 
subject of our memoir, becoming at a loss for a situa^On^ 
hesitated whether to settle at London or elsewhere ^ buti he 
soon decided in favour of Blandford, in Dorsetshire, where 
there happened to be a vacancy. Hene be continued in 
great reputation, and extensive practice, till bis deaths 
which happened on the 13th of October iaoi, to the djeep 
regret of all who knew him, in the 72d year of his age. 
His disease was to inflammatiou in the lung^, ol only ^ 
week's duration. 

Dr. Pulteney married, in 1779, Miss Elizabeth Qaltoo^ 
of Blandford, a lady who bore him no children, but whose 
society and attainments contributed very essentially to hi^ 
happiness, and who has in every respect proved herself 

' JOict. Hilt. 



P y L T EN E Y. in 

fott}^y of her amiable aod di^tingui^bed bustbaiid. Uk i^^ 
in^ins wer^ iQtQrFQd «^t Langton^ iieadr Blimdford,; a labial; 
$0 bis memory haviog been pUcedi by bU widdw^ ia tbe 
church of the last-mentioned town^ This monument is de^ 
ponHed with a 9prig qf the PuUen^a stipnlaris, so •caU^i 
}n hopour of him by the president of the Linnssan society ( 
liiut in obedience to tbe strict commands of the deceased^ 
the inscription is of the simplest kind. 

As an author, Dr, Pulteney was conspicuoHaly distin^. 
guished by his ^'General view of the Writings of Linnaeus/* 
and his " Sketches of the progress of Botany in England.'* 
The former, published in 17S2, in one volume 8vo, biOK 
coqtributed more than any work, except perhaps the Tracts 
of Stillingfieet, to diffuse a taste for Linna&an knowledge 
in this country. It proved a very popular book, and a 
new edition was soon called for. This, howeter, did riot 
lappear during the author^slife ; but has been published by 
his learned and much valued friend Dr. Maton^ who hi^ 
pjreiii^ed to this handsome quarto^. portraits of LinnsBus and 
bis biographer,, with a life of the latter. A translation of 
LinnsB^us's celebrated manuscript diary of his own life is 
subjoined. 

The '^ Sketches of the progress of Botany,'' making two « 
Octavo volumes, appeared in 1790, but did not become so 
popular as the Account of Linnaeus.* Theto volumes, ne- 
trertheless, abound with original and valuable information ; 
nor b it any reproach to the memory of their intelligent 
author, that they do not contain, as he was well aware, all 
that might have been collected on every subject. Their 
siost learned reckders will ever be more sensible of their 
merits than their defects. 

Dr. Pulteney bad been associated with tbe Linnsean so* 
ciety soon after its first institution, and he ever retained a 
great attachment to that body, as vtrell as to its founder. 
Several of his papers appear in the Transactions of tbe 
Society ; and he' gave a final proof of his regard in the 
bequest of bis valuable museum of natural history. He 
stipulated that his collections should always be kept se^^ 
patate from any others which tbe society might possess ; 
and he provided that it should be at tbe option of the 
members,, either to keep this museum entire, or to dispose 
of it^ in order to raise a fund, whose interest should be 
expended annually in a medal for the best botanical paper 
read before tbe society in tbe course of the year. It was 

BB 2 



372 1? U t T E N E f . 

without hesitation determined, that these treasures shoulcl 
be preserved entire, as the best anid most useful memorial 
of a benefactor to science, to whom a large portion of this 
corporate body were individually and strongly attached. 
Few men have enjoyed more eAtifely the fespeet itkd af'^ 
fection of his acquaintance than Dr. Pultenej^. An air of 
urbanity and gaiety was diffused over bis countenance and 
manners, which besppke the simplicity^ candour, and li-^^ 
berality of his mind. His ardour for science was un- 
bounded ; and as lively at the close of his life as- at the 
beginning of his literary career. His religion wias nnaf*- 
fected, and devoid of bigotry or intolerance, the only feel- 
ings which he contemplated without sympathy or induU 
gence. His conversation, like his morals, was spotless; 
and his cheerfulness flowed from the never-failing spring 
of a benevolent and honest heart. ' 

PULTENEY (William), Earl op Bath, an eminent 
English statesman, was descended from an ancient family, 
who took their surname from a place of that appellation in 
Leicestershire. His grandfather, sir William Pulteney, 
was member of parliament for the city of Westminster, and 
highly distinguished himself in the House of Commons by 
his manly and spirited eloquence. Of bis father, little is 
upon record. He was born in 1682, and educated at 
Westminster school and Christ-church, Oxford, where his 
talents and industry became^ so conspicuous, that dean 
Aldrich appointed him to make the congratulatory speech 
to queen Anne, on her visit to the college. Having tra- 
velled through various parts of Europe, he returned to his 
native country with a mind highly improved, and came 
into parliament for the borough of Heydon in Yorkshire, 
by the interest of Mr. Guy, his protector and great bene- 
factor, who left him 40,000/. and an estate of 500/. a year. 

Being descended from a whig family, and educated in 
revolution principles, he warmly espoused that party, and 
during the whole reign of queen Anne opposed the mea- 
sures of the tories. His first speech was in support of the 
place-bill. He had form^ a notion, that no young mem- 
ber ought to press into public notice with too much for- 
wardness, and fatigue the House with long orations, until 
he had acquired the habit of order and precision. He was 
often beard to declare, that hardly any person ever became 

J Reei'i Cyclopedia bj sir J. £. Soiitb.--GeQt Mag. LXXL 



P:TJ LT EN E,Y* 373. 

«'|;ood orator, who b^gan with making a set speech. Me 
eonceived that the circumstances of the moaient shoula 
impel them to the delivery of sentiments^ which should 
derive their tenor and application from the course of the 
debate, and not be the result of previous s^udy or inva- 
riable arrangement. These rules are generally good, but 
we can recollect at least one splendid exception. Ou the 
prosecution of Dr. Sacheverel, Mr. Pulteney distinguished; 
kimself in the House of Commons, in defence of. the revo- 
kition, against the doctrines of passive obedience and non- 
resistance. When the tories came into power,^ in 1710, 
be' was so obnoxious to them, that his uucle, John Pul* 
teney, was removed from the board of tr^de. He not only 
took a principal share in the debates of the four last years 
of queen Anne, while the whigs were in opposition, but 
was also admitted into the most important secrets of bis 
party, at that critical time, when the. succession of the 
Hanover family being. supposed to be in danger, its fdedds. 
engaged iu very bold enterprizes to secure it. He was a 
liberal subscriber to a very unprofitable and hazardous loan,, 
then secretly negociated by the whig party, for the use of 
the emperor, to encourage him to refuse co-operating with 
the tory administration in making the peace of Utrecht. 

On the prosecution of Walpole for high breach of trust 
and corruption, Pulteney warmly vindicated his friend, for. 
such he then was; and, on his commitment to the Tower,, 
was amongst those who paid frequeut visits to the prisoner, 
whom he, with the rest of the whigs, considered as a mar* 
tyr to their cause. He also engaged with Walpole ia 
defending the whig administration, and wrote the ironiciil 
dedication to the earl of Oxford, prefixed to Walpole^s 
account of the parliament. On the accession of George I. 
Mr. Pulteney was appointed privy-counsellor and secretary 
at war, in opposition to the inclination of the duke of 
Marlborough, who, as commander in chief, thought him- 
self entitled to recommend to that post. He was chosen a 
member of the committee of secrecy, nominated, by the 
House of Commons, to examine and report the substance of 
the papers relating to the negociation for peace ; and oii 
the suppression of the rebellion of 17 15, he. moved for the 
impeachment of lord Widrington, and opposed the motion 
to address the king for a proclamation, oflfering a general 
pardon to all who were in arms in Scotland, who should lay 
iiown their arms within a certain time. ... 



374 P U L T E N E y. 

I 

He was at this period so tnucb oonnefeted wkh Stafihc^e 
and Walpoie, that, in allusion to the triple alliance between. 
Great Britain, France, and Holland, which was then nego* 
elating by general Stanhope, secretary of state, they wiere 
called the three ^^ grand allies ;^' and. a proverbial saying 
was current, ^^Are you come into the triple alliance ^^^ 
But when Stanhope and Walpole took difFerent sides, oa 
the schism between the whigs, when Townsend was dis- 
missed and Walpole resigned, Pulteney followed his friend's 
example, and gave up his place of secretary at war. When 
Walpole made a reconciliation between the king and the 
prince of Wales, and negociated with Sunderland to (ortOL 
a new administration, in which he and lord TowQsen4 bore 
the most conspicuous part, then were first sown those seeds 
of disgust and discontent which afterwards burst forth* 
The causes of this i^nfortunate misunderstanding may be 
traced from the authority of the parties themselv^, or 
their particular friends. Pulteney was offended because 
Walpole had negociated with the prince of Wales and 
Sunderland, without communicating the progress to faim, 
although he had tol4 it to Mr. Edgeumbe, who indiscreetly 
gave ft daily account to Pulteney. Another cause of dis-* 
gust was, that Pulteney, w)io had hitherto invariably prored 
lis attachment to Townsend and Walpole, expected to 
lieceive some important ennployment, whereas be was only 
offered a peerage ; and, when he declined it, more than 
two years elapsed before any farther overtures were made; 
and though Pulteney, at length, solicited and obtained 
the ofSce of cofferer pf the household^ he deemed that 
place far below his just expectations. Although, there* 
fore, be continued to support the measures of admioistrai' 
tion for some time, the disdainful manner in which be 
conceived he had been treated by Walpole had made too 
(deep an impressipn on his mind to be eradicated. Finding 
that he did not possess the full confidence of administra» 
tion, or disapproving those measures which tended, in his 
opinion, to raise the power of France on the ruins of the 
house of Austria, and which, in his opinion, sacrificed the 
interests of Great Britain to those of Hanover, topics on 
which he afterwards expatiated with great energy and on- 
usual eloquence in parliament, he became more and more 
estranged from his former friends, and expressed his dis* 
Approbation of their measures both in public and private. 
At length his dissontent arrived at sp great a height^ that 



P i; L T E N E Y. 375 

b« declared bis resolution of «ttecking the minister ii^ 
parliament. 

. Waipole perceived his error, in disgusting so able aa 
associate ; and, with a view to prevent his opposition to 
the payment of the king^s debts, hinted to him, in the. 
House of Commons, that at the removal of either of the 
secretaries of state, the ministers designed him fqr thq 
vacant employment. To this proposal Pulteney made n<^ 
answer, but bowed and smiled, to let him know he under* 
stood his meaning. He now came forward as the great 
opposer of government ; and bis first exertion on the side 
of the minority, was on the subject of the civil list, theni 
in arrears. For this he was soon afterwards dismissed from 
bis place of cofferer of the househeld, and began a systemai- 
tic opposition to the minister; in which he proved himself 
so formidable, that Waipole again endeavoured to reconcile 
him ; and about the time of Towhsend^s resignation, (jueen 
Caroline offered him a peerage, together with the post of 
secretary of state for foreign affairs ; but he declared hi^i 
fixed resolution never again to act with sir Robert Wal-^ 
pole* The most violent altercations now passed in the 
House of Commons between them : their heat against each 
other seemed to increase in proportion to their former 
intimacy, and neither was deficient in sarcastic allusionsy 
violent accusations, and virulent invectives. For these 
the reader may be referred to the parliamentary history 
of the times, or to the excellent Life of Waipole, by 
Mr. Cbxe, to which the present article is almost soleljr 
ipdebted. 

Pulteney placed himself at the head of the discontented 
whigs; and, in conjunction with Bolingbroke, bis ancient 
antagonist, be became the principal supporter of the 
'^ Craftsman ;^' to which paper he gave many essays, and 
furnished hints and observations. The controversy ii^ 
173], which passed between Pulteney and Walpole^s 
friends and pamphleteers, widened the breach, and ren-> 
dered it irreparable. The ^^ Craftsman'*, was full of invec-* 
tives against Waipole, and the measures of his administra*? 
tion. In answer to this paper, a pamphlet was published 
under the title of ^' Sedition and .Defamation displayed,'' 
which contained a scurrilous abuse of Pulteney and Boling-* 
^roke. Pulteney's opposition is here wholly atttibutedf 
and surely not very unjustly, to disappointed ambition ao^ 
personal pique. In answer to this pamphlet, which PuU 



1 



376 P U L T E N E Y. 

teney supposed to be written by-lord Henrey, the great 
friend and supporter of sir Robert Walpole, he wrote " Aj 
proper reply to a late scurrilous libel, &c. by Caleb D-An- 
versy of Gray^s Inn, esq. ;'* and introduced a character of 
sir Robert, which does not yield in scurrility or misrepre* 
sentation to that of Pulteney, given in ^* Sedition and De- 
famation displayed." The author also treated lord Her- 
vey (Pope's lord Hervey) with such contempt and ridicule, 
in allusion to bis effeminate appearance, as a species of 
half man and half woman, that his lord&hip was highly 
offended : a duel ensued, and Pulteney slightly wounded 
his antagonist Pulteney afterwards acknowledged his mis-^ 
take^ when he found that the pamphlet was not written by 
lord Hervey, but appears to have made a similar mistake, 
in ascribing it to Walpole ; for it was the production of sir 
William Yonge, secretary at war. 

The ** Craftsman" involved Pulteney in other contro- 
versies, in one of which he wrote his famous pamphlet, 
entitled *^ An Answer to One part of a late infamous libel, 
intituled * Remarks on the Craftsman's vindication of his 
two honourable